


Eventide

by Pandoras_hope



Category: Twilight Series - Stephenie Meyer
Genre: Alternate Canon, Alternate Universe - Gender Changes, Eventual Romance, F/F, Falling In Love, Female Relationships, First Love, Fluff, Lesbian Character, POV Lesbian Character, Romance, Slow Burn, Souled Vampire(s), Teen Romance, Vampire Family, Vampires
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-10
Updated: 2017-08-08
Packaged: 2018-11-30 13:41:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 20
Words: 77,740
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11464752
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pandoras_hope/pseuds/Pandoras_hope
Summary: Bella Swan knows the only way to help her mother begin recovery: Move to Forks, Washington to live with her dad. When she gets there a mysterious girl unexpectedly saves her life, and Bella finds herself inextricably linked to the sinister Edythe Cullen and her family when she promises to keep their secret. But Bella has a secret of her own- will Edie be the one to discover it?





	1. First Night

**Author's Note:**

> Characters, settings, and plot derived from the Twilight Saga- property of Stephenie Meyer

**_Bella_ **

"Bella? Bella!" My mother's voice broke through the haze of sleep. I peeled my eyes open and glanced at the clock on my bedside table. 3am. This could not be good.

"What's wrong Mom?" I croaked.

"Phil is gone!" She cried, clutching me to her. I could smell the alcohol on her breath.

"What? Why?" My brain was foggy.

"He doesn't love me anymore; he says I'm not the same person he married." Her words were starting to run together as she sobbed into my shoulder.

"I'm sure he was just upset," I told her, patting her back. "He loves you, you know he does."

I pulled her up off of my bed and helped her walk out into the kitchen. I poured a glass of water and handed it to her as she slumped down into a chair. She drank half of it, then when she set it back down it tipped over, drenching the table and dribbling onto the floor. I sighed, tearing off a swath of paper towels, and bent to sop up the mess. My mom's babbling was incoherent now.

"He's probably just out driving. You know that's how he calms down." I reminded her.

"You're right! I'll go find him!" She stood up quickly, then had to grip the table to steady herself on her feet. I rushed forward and held on to her other arm.

"Maybe you should just let him cool off," I told her, steering her toward her bedroom.

"No!" She screamed, wrenching her arm away from me. "Leave me alone! You don't understand anything!"

"Fine!" I shouted back, walking back to my room. I was glad that Phil had taken their car out driving so she wouldn't be able to follow him. But then a horrible thought occurred to me and I stopped dead, picturing my car keys hanging where I always left them by the front door.

I turned and ran back out to the kitchen, but it was too late. My keys were gone, and out the window I glimpsed the taillights of my '88 Buick as she drove it off into the night.

My hands were shaking so badly when I picked up my phone that I had to stop and redial Phil's number three times before I got through. Luckily he had his phone on him. I explained everything that had happened, my voice rising an octave in panic.

"It's okay Bella, I'll find her. I'm not far away now." Phil reassured me. "Just stay put and we'll be home soon, okay?"

"Okay," I agreed weakly. I paced a circuit around my room while I awaited their return. I couldn't stop myself from imagining the worst: she could have crashed already, or hit someone, or gotten lost. My fingernails were bitten down to the skin by the time I heard the garage door open.

They were in the middle of an argument. I hovered in the hallway, unwilling to interrupt.

"-has to stop, Renee, you could've killed someone!" Phil was yelling at her. "You need help."

"You just want to throw me in some loony bin! Just lock me away so you can go off and live your life!" Her tone was scathing.

"You know that's not what I want. I want you to get better. I love you, but I can't live like this anymore. Either you get help, or I move out."

She started sobbing hysterically. "No, you can't leave me, not now, not after everything that's happened, please don't leave me!" My heart was breaking to hear my mom in so much pain.

"Just go for a week, they might be able to help you." Phil pleaded.

"I can't leave Bella! She needs me! She's been through all of this too." I knew she was just using me as one more excuse for why she couldn't check herself into rehab, but her words struck me. I went back into my room and opened the drawer of my bedside table. The envelope I picked up held a one-way plane ticket to Forks, Washington. My dad had sent it to me after I told him how bad things were getting. I had hoped I would never have to use it, but now I knew I had no choice.

I checked the clock before I picked up my phone again. 5am. He would be awake. I dialed his number and tried to get my breathing under control before he picked up.

"Bella?" My dad's voice sounded worried when he answered. "What's the matter?"

"Dad," As soon as I opened my mouth to speak the floodgates opened. My throat closed up and tears were streaming down my face. I managed to choke out my question after the tears subsided. "Can I come and live with you?"

"Of course you can, but what happened?" He asked.

"Mom's gotten worse. A lot worse."

"Okay Bells, when are you coming?"

"Today." I told him. If I waited any longer my mom would talk me out of it.

"Sure, kiddo. I'll pick you up from the airport. Call me when you know what time you land, okay?"

"Okay. Thanks Dad."

"I love you Bells."

"Love you too."

I rode to the airport with the windows down, taking in my last breath of dry desert air. Eyes closed, I rested my chin on my arm that draped over the car door. As its beloved warmth soaked into my skin and turned my vision red, I said my goodbye to the sun.

Only when the plane took to the air and the ground fell away did I breathe a sigh of relief. I hated leaving without even a word, but I knew that she would have stopped me no matter what. This was the only way to make a clean break. Now that I was truly and utterly alone, I turned my head into the window and let the tears fall unrestrained, giving way to sobs that shook me to the core until I felt I would literally break apart. The release was exquisite, and when it was over I fell into a deep and dreamless sleep.

The loud bing of the captain's announcement jolted me awake. We were making our descent into Port Angeles, Washington. I hurriedly rubbed my eyes, hoping they weren't too red and puffy, and gathered my things. Charlie was waiting for me outside the gate.

"Hey, Dad." was all I could come up with on the spot.

"Hey there, kiddo!" He pulled me into one of his bear hugs and I let my breath out, easing into his comfort. Everything would be okay now.

I spent the hour-long drive from Port Angeles to Forks staring out the window at the rain. Charlie didn't press me for details and I was grateful. I had a feeling that if I tried to talk now the emotions would come flooding back.

The sun was setting when Charlie pulled the police cruiser into our driveway. Once inside, he sat me at the kitchen table and plopped a big serving of Hamburger Helper onto a plate for me. As soon as he pulled it out of the microwave I attacked it, realizing I had completely forgotten to eat in my haste to leave this morning. Charlie sat patiently while I scarfed, and as soon as I set my fork down he looked at me sympathetically.

"Bella, I know things have changed drastically for you this year. I was starting to worry when I didn't hear from you on Christmas. I know how hard it must have been for you and your mom. Honey, I am so sorry about your grandparents." He reached across the table and squeezed my hand, and I almost lost it again, but it seemed all of my tears had been shed already. "But are you sure this is what you want? Not that I'm complaining, you know how much I love having you here. It's just that I thought you hated Forks." I laughed at that because it was so true.

"I'm sure. I can't be there anymore dad. It's just… too much. And mom… she's not… coping. Christmas was… awful." I struggled to find the words to explain how things were spiraling out of control. But once I started the words just tumbled out and I told him everything that had happened since the car accident that killed Gram and Pop, up until the events of this morning. Charlie listened to my explanation attentively, and when I was done he pulled me into another hug. "You are always welcome here Bells, stay as long as you need to." I smiled gratefully. "But I'm still going to call Phil, he'll be worried sick you know."

"I did leave a note…" I started, but I knew he was right. I retreated up the stairs to my room while he dialed. It looked exactly the same as it always had, the baby blue walls, lace curtains, and antique rocker comforting relics of my childhood here. I hefted my bag onto the twin bed and sat at the chair in front of my dinosaur of a computer, contemplating my future of gray skies and small-town life. Knowing it was the right thing to do didn't make it any easier.

A while later Charlie came up the stairs and stood in my open doorway.

"I spoke to Phil. Your mother checked herself into The Meadows down in Wickenburg, she'll be there for six weeks." I sighed in relief. "He wanted you to know that she'll be okay. She won't be permitted any phone calls at the beginning, but he's sure she will call as soon as she can." I bit my lip at that. She was probably furious, knowing that I had deserted her at her worst moment, that I had condemned her to rehab. Charlie seemed to follow my line of thinking. "Bella, none of this is your fault. This is a good thing."

"What if she never speaks to me again?" I couldn't help but voice my worst fear aloud.

"She will. She loves you, no matter what. Trust me. Now, get some rest. Tomorrow I'll take you over to the high school to register."

"Wait, what? I thought I could just get my GED…"

"No arguments. If you want to live here you will go to school, end of discussion." He crossed the room to plant a kiss on my forehead. "I'm glad you're here, Bells."

"Thanks, Dad. For everything." He closed the door when he left, and I flopped onto my bed. Going to school was something I hadn't factored into my master plan. In Phoenix I had spent years cultivating my ability to fade into the background, invisible. Forks, however, was such a small town. The high school was bound be tiny, making it impossible for anyone to remain anonymous. What will happen if they discover my secret?

**_Other_ **

I stood perfectly still, eyes closed, letting my other senses guide me. There! I heard it, a pounding heart. The deer was frozen just as I was, somehow alert to its impending danger. I had to act quickly. My muscles coiled, tendons taut. I held myself there for what was, to my mind, an eternity waiting for my moment. Then I shot forward with all my force and was on the doe before she even had a chance to register my movement. The forest around me faded away until the only thing I was aware of was the animal beneath me. Her heartbeat drowned out all sound, even my own thoughts. I was no longer anything that resembled a human. I was a predator, triumphant. The warm flesh and the blood it contained consumed me. I bared my fangs and plunged into the carotid artery with ferocious abandon, draining my prey to the last drop.


	2. Closed Book

Bella  
I was staring at my alarm clock when it went off, having been unable to sleep much. I slammed the stop button with a heavy hand and buried myself under the covers.  
“Bella!” Charlie called up the stairs, “Don’t make us late!”  
I groaned and threw the bedspread off, then stomped over to the bathroom. I dallied too long in the shower and the water suddenly turned ice cold, making me even grumpier than before. After getting dressed and towel-drying my thick brown hair, I pulled it up into my usual pony-tail to keep it out of my way. I hadn’t brought any of my school stuff in my rush to pack without my mom noticing, so my book bag was full of my favorite classics rather than texts. I brought them along anyway. One sure-fire way to avoid unwanted interrogations by my classmates was to keep a book in front of my face at all times.  
I reached the bottom of the stairs just as Charlie was about to come looking for me.  
“I made breakfast,” he stated proudly. Unfortunately the roiling of my stomach would make it impossible to eat.  
“Thanks Dad, but I’m not hungry.”  
“Bells, you need to eat something.”  
“Fine,” I sighed heavily and grabbed a granola bar from the pantry.  
“It’s just school, Bella, not the end of the world.”  
That’s what he thinks.  
I got into the passenger side of his police cruiser and stared fixedly out the window. Arriving to my first day at a new school in the middle of junior year in the sheriff’s car was just the icing on top of a spectacular year.  
One good thing about getting a ride instead of walking to school, besides being out of the rain, was being able to appreciate the scenery. Forks is nestled on the western edge of the Olympic National Forest, and there were trees everywhere I looked. I felt like I had never truly seen the color green before. The sage-green and brown-green of the desert just doesn’t compare to the overpowering emerald tones of the grass, ferns, and moss that grow everywhere and on everything up here. I could only glimpse the cloudy sky if I looked straight up, and suddenly I felt a strong wave of claustrophobia that increased my nervousness ten-fold.  
“Are we there yet?” I asked my dad, desperately trying to keep my breathing under control. My skin was starting to prick with sweat in spite of the chilly morning air. I needed to get out of this car.  
“Actually, yes we are.” Charlie pulled the car up to a little brick building with a sign stating Administration. Where was the school? I saw nothing but a grouping of small brick buildings nestled in the trees.  
I jumped out as soon as we stopped and let the rain wash over me. So much for non-frizzy hair this morning. I stood in the fresh air while Charlie went in to get my class schedule. I guess being the chief of police means you never have to wait for anything. Ten minutes later he returned with my schedule and instructions. First stop was the library to check out my textbooks. I almost asked him why they didn’t require a photo for a student ID, then decided against it. I was definitely not feeling photogenic at the moment.  
“I can take it from here, Dad. You should get to work.”  
“Okay kiddo. Good luck.” He gave me a warm hug and I relished one last moment of peace before entering the lion’s den.  
As he drove away I studied the map of the school I’d been given, trying to discern which of the brick buildings in front of me was which. I was very early, no one else seemed to have arrived yet. The largest building in the middle housed the gym, cafeteria, and library. I entered and gave my book list to the librarian, who smiled warmly as she stacked my texts on the counter. As I waited, the door opened and a boy entered. He almost walked right past me, then looked at me again with furrowed brows.  
“Hi,” He greeted me, “are you new here?” I nodded. “My name is Eric.”  
“Bella.” I answered him, swallowing my nerves. “Hi.”  
He rewarded me with a huge smile, like I had just made his day. “So, where’re you from Bella?”  
“Phoenix.”  
“Oh wow! That’s so far away. How come you moved here?”  
I sighed. Here we go. He seemed really nice but there was no way I wanted to get into my family drama with a complete stranger. Luckily the librarian had found all my books and I heaved them off the counter. They almost toppled over as I lost my balance trying to hold on to them.  
“Here, let me help you.” Eric offered, taking a few off the pile.  
“Thank you,” I told him, relieved.  
“So what’s your first class?”  
“Umm…” My schedule of course was in my pocket, completely out of reach now that my arms were full of books. I had only glanced at it before. “AP… something.”  
“Nice! That will be English, there’s only one AP class each period. I’m in it too, come on I’ll show you.”  
I followed him to class, almost in shock. At my school in Phoenix, students sorted themselves according to the clothes they wore and the music they listened to. No one had ever spoken to me for as long as Eric just did the entire time I lived there. Not that I had minded. Less talking meant less personal questions. But it was actually nice to have some help finding my way around, and Eric seemed completely genuine. He walked me to class all morning, since we both were taking all of the Advanced Placement courses available.  
More and more people were noticing me as the morning went on. I kept my head down and pretended I couldn’t hear the whispers, but I was certain my skin was bright red the entire time. I felt like a spectacle. By third period Eric and I were joined by a quiet girl named Angela, and then in fourth by Angela’s friend Jessica who was her complete opposite, bubbly and talkative. I tried to keep up with her run-down of the school’s social gossip, but was soon completely lost. Finally lunch came around, and I was of course starving after skipping breakfast. Jessica’s boyfriend Mike and his friend Ben sat with us at the lunch table. They all wanted to know about life in Arizona and being the daughter of the police chief. I tried to keep my answers as brief as I could. Even so I had never talked so much in my life. I was starting to get a little out of breath and almost dizzy from answering the continuous onslaught, but I found I didn’t mind. Everyone here was so open and friendly. I was just starting to think that maybe it wouldn’t be so bad here when it happened: the cafeteria door opened and in walked the most gorgeous girl I had ever seen.  
Her face was perfection: dark eyes with long lashes, dainty nose set between high cheekbones, and full even lips all framed by luxurious waves of golden tresses. My jaw dropped as my eyes involuntarily travelled down her voluptuous curves. I don’t even know how long I had been staring when my trance was broken by the arrival of a tall muscular guy who stepped in behind the goddess and wrapped his tree-trunk arms around her tiny waist. I snapped my mouth shut and looked around anxiously, suddenly terrified. How many of them had seen me openly ogling another girl? How could I have let this happen? All my years of forcibly conditioning myself to never reveal my true inclinations had been shattered by the appearance of this sultry siren. Thankfully, it appeared I wasn’t the only one staring. The vixen commanded the room, and my indiscretion seemed to have passed unnoticed. I sighed in relief, then glared at her, furious that she had almost become the catalyst for my undoing. I vowed I would never so much as glance at her again. Blondes aren’t my type anyway.  
The lunch hour was almost over, and my roller-coaster of emotions combined with the endless questions had left me drained. I excused myself and took my tray over to the garbage bin, once again wishing I could be invisible. I was looking at my feet instead of in front me when I crashed right into the back of a tall boy with chin-length wavy blonde hair. He gasped in surprise and spun around, and when he did I gasped too. His face was a masculine mirror image of the girl who I’d been staring at only moments before, so beautiful I was almost attracted to him. Almost. Something about the look on his face sent chills down my spine. His dark eyes were wild and his lips curled into a snarl. I backed away from him, but before he could say or do anything two girls appeared, one on either side of him, and grabbed him by the elbows.  
“Oh my- I’m sorry I-“ I stammered, trying to regain my composure. The three of them were gone before I even got the words out. I was still shaking my head in confusion when Eric and Mike found me to walk to Biology.  
“Geez Bella, what’d you say to the Hale kid? I’ve never seen him look so mad!” Mike said as we walked.  
I was still bright red from embarrassment, and Mike’s comment made me flush even deeper. “Nothing, I just… bumped into him.”  
“Oh, suuure!” Mike retorted teasingly.  
“No really, it was a complete accident!” I insisted, mortified that he would assume I ran into the guy just to see him up close and personal.  
“Nice try, just be a little bit more subtle next time.” Mike was laughing.  
“Oh c’mon Mike, like you never ‘bumped into’ Rosalie before” Eric chimed in.  
“Rosalie?” I asked.  
“Rosalie Hale, she’s Jasper’s twin sister. You know, the mega-hot blonde.”  
“Oh, um,” I cleared my throat nervously, “I hadn’t noticed.”  
“But seriously, Bella, stay away from that guy. He’s totally weird and besides, his girlfriend Alice is very… protective of him.” The laughter was gone from Mike’s voice when he told me this.  
“Which one was she?” I asked.  
“The short one with the black hair.”  
“Okay.” I replied, trying to remember what she looked like. They had left so quickly I never got a good look at either of them. “And the other girl?”  
“Edythe Cullen. She never talks to anyone.”  
“Why not?”  
“No idea.” Mike shrugged, “Never really thought about it.” We entered the classroom and Mike and Eric took their seats, leaving me to look around for an empty desk. Like a typical Biology classroom, there were blacktop tables set up for two people each. Finally I spotted an open chair in the very back, next to a girl with unruly auburn hair whom I suddenly recognized as Edythe Cullen. Just my luck.  
I reluctantly made my way to the back and took my seat, avoiding eye contact. Edythe must have still been angry about my bumping into Jasper. She sat at the very corner of the desk, her body angled away from me. I got the feeling she detested even being in the same room with me. I was a little confused, I had thought Mike said the short dark-haired girl was Jasper’s protective girlfriend, not this one. Maybe I had heard wrong. I shrugged it off and tried to concentrate on the lesson, ignoring the waves of hostility that emanated from my lab partner. Finally the class ended and Edythe disappeared before I had even closed my binder.  
Last period of the day was gym. Great. I shuddered to think what would happen in there. Unless we were running track there was a good chance that I would be making a royal fool of myself. I wasn’t wrong. Before we were even halfway through the volleyball match I had managed to jump wildly away from the ball flying toward me, trip over my own feet and smash my face right into the pole that held up the net. My face turned ten shades of fuchsia as everyone in the gym started to laugh, and I ran out as fast as I could, completely humiliated.  
I ran into the girls’ restroom, fighting back tears of pain and embarrassment. The day had been going so well. I knew it was too good to be true. I bent over the sink to wash the trickle of blood off my forehead, wondering how I could possibly show my face back here tomorrow.  
Suddenly I was startled by a stall door slamming open behind me. My head snapped up and a scream caught in my throat. In the mirror I saw a face behind me so fearsome I felt terror race through me. Black eyes rimmed in blood red and mouth wide open to reveal rows of deadly sharp fangs. I was rooted to the spot, not daring to breathe. Before I could blink the creature sped out through the window, but not before I glimpsed the unmistakable auburn curls of one Edythe Cullen.

 

Other  
I ran through the forest, not caring where I went. Branches whipped my skin as I raced through the trees as fast as I could, desperately trying to reach open air. Finally I found a clearing and collapsed, letting the cold air clear my senses. Soon I could think again, but still could not forget the smell of her blood. It had completely overpowered me, and all my years of training and conditioning myself to live amongst humans disappeared in an instant. Her scent was intoxicating, impossible to resist. I wanted nothing more than to sink my teeth into her tender throat and savor every last drop of her. And yet somehow I had resisted. I pondered this as the daylight faded away, postponing the moment when I would have to say good-bye to my family. I knew now that my only option was to leave. I could not risk exposing all of us for what we truly are. I would not.  
Finally Alice found me.  
“Edie,” she said softly, her voice full of sadness, “don’t leave us.”  
“I have to, Alice. It’s my only option. Surely you can see that.” The bitterness in my voice surprised me.  
“My sight is subjective. It depends purely on the decisions you make. You know that as well as I.” She sighed. “Besides, it doesn’t seem to be working the way it usually does.”  
I sat up when she said this. “What do you mean?”  
“Well, for one thing the incident with Jasper in the lunchroom. I should have seen that coming! I let him come into full contact with a human, he is in no way ready for that yet, you saw it yourself.” The fear in her voice surprised me. I couldn’t recall ever seeing Alice so shaken. “And now, whatever has led you to believe you must leave us surely was catastrophic enough that it would have been known to me. I don’t understand anything right now.”  
“So you’re telling me you had no idea what happened today at the school? That I almost… hurt someone?” My mind was racing now. If Alice hadn’t seen what had almost happened to me, what did that mean?  
“Of course not! If I had I would have stopped you immediately. Although it appears I didn’t need to. You say you almost hurt someone, but obviously you didn’t. What happened?”  
I told her everything, how the moment the girl sat beside me in biology I was consumed with bloodlust, how she overwhelmed all of my senses until I couldn’t even think. It took every ounce of my considerable self-control not to tear into her right then and there. I still don’t know how I managed to resist her. I bolted out of the room the minute class ended and sequestered myself in an infrequently used restroom. But then, of all things to happen she walks into the very same room, bleeding! In my panic to escape her infuriatingly delicious scent I fled through the window, hoping she hadn’t seen me.  
“Edie, we have to know if she saw you.” Alice responded gently. I closed my eyes.  
“I can’t go back to that school, Alice, not as long as she is living here. You will have to figure out another way.”  
“There is no other way, you know that.”  
“But what if-“  
“I won’t let that happen! Look at how far Jasper has come. With my help you can beat this.”  
I shook my head. “You don’t understand. This is not like resisting the rest of the humans. Her scent is much too powerful! I won’t risk it.” But as I said this a part of me hoped that Alice would convince me to go back. More than anything I had ever wanted in my long life, I wanted this girl. It would be an accident. My family wouldn’t blame me, they would be sympathetic when we would have to move away to avoid being implicated in her death. I had been so good for so long, I deserved this. She was mine to have and nothing would keep me from her!  
“Alright,” I said with renewed vigor, “tomorrow then.”  
“Wonderful,” Alice smiled at me, “I know you can do this.”  
Damn her unfailing optimism. Disappointing her would be worse than all the others.  
“Please don’t tell the others,” I asked her, “not yet.”  
“Of course.”  
We left the clearing together and I breathed a sigh of relief. Somehow, Alice had failed to see the drastic change in my future as a result of the decision I had just made. I broke my own rule and tuned in to listen to Alice’s thoughts. Her vision of tomorrow clearly showed me at school observing the girl, presumably reading her thoughts to find out if she had seen anything today. Nothing about my plan to follow her after class as she walked home in the darkening twilight. Nothing about me asking her to wait up, offering to walk with her, letting her divine aroma intoxicate me until we reached the alley behind the supermarket and I was finally able to pounce. I would do it slowly, appreciating every detail. The feel of her hair as I brushed it away from her neck, the softness of her skin, her pulse beginning to pound as adrenaline spiked the blood racing through every vein…  
Even as my plot solidified in my mind, Alice remained completely in the dark about what I had planned for this particular human. There must be something wrong with her visions. Oh well, I would worry about that later. Everything was falling into place.


	3. Anonymous

**_Bella_ **

I was staring at the ceiling when my alarm went off, not daring to move.  I kept replaying that moment of terror over and over in my mind.  What had I actually seen in the bathroom stall?  Had I hit my head harder than I thought, driving me to full-on hallucinations?  There was no other explanation.  What I had seen- _thought_ I had seen- was impossible.  I tried to convince myself of this, yet still I could not move a muscle.  Every time I blinked I saw those eyes, blood red and hungry.  I started shaking again, cold sweat beading on my forehead. 

I knew what I had to do.  The only way to convince myself that what I had seen wasn’t real was to go back to school and see Edythe Cullen again.  To prove to my terror-driven mind that she is nothing more than a regular high-school student, not some kind of monster hiding out in bathrooms preying on unsuspecting teenagers.  Once I arrived at this conclusion I felt a fresh wave of terror pulse through me, debilitating my mind again.  So I took a deep breath and forced myself to a sitting position on the bed.  I knew that if I didn’t get out of bed right now, I never would.  I slammed down on the button of my alarm and with great effort I stood up, determined not to let this fear control me.

The hot shower soothed much of the tension from my muscles, and by the time I was dressed I felt as ready as possible to face my fear.  The short walk to school undid everything the shower had done to help me relax.  By the time I arrived I was shivering, my breath coming in shallow gasps.  I was early again, so I found a bench in the corner of the quad and sat down to dry off and warm up.  I felt somewhat safer with my back against the wall, and I had a good view of the main entrance. 

Soon the other students began filing in, laughing and rough-housing as they slipped and slid along the wet floor.  My nerves were reaching their limits as I waited, until finally I saw them.  Rosalie entered first, her linebacker boyfriend still attached to her waist like yesterday.  Behind them Jasper entered alone, walking stiffly and not looking at anyone.  Finally I saw the girl who must have been Alice, her petite frame dancing gracefully across the slippery tile, dark eyes fixed on Jasper’s back as if deep in concentration.  Lastly in walked Edythe, who was scanning the room anxiously.  My breath stopped short and I could feel my heart hammering in my chest.  Her eyes came to rest on me as I hunched in the corner, trying my utmost to blend into the wallpaper.  She squinted as if she couldn’t see me clearly from across the room.  I waited, not breathing, for her face to change into the horrific visage from yesterday.  It didn’t.  I should have felt relieved that my vision had all been in my head, but as she continued to stare at me I felt the exact opposite.  I didn’t know if what I had seen had been real, but now I knew this: Edythe Cullen was definitely not just a regular high school student.    

I wandered from class to class oblivious to my surroundings, jumping out of my skin every time a locker slammed or the bell rang. My new group of friends were also oblivious, chattering at me in class and through the halls as we went about our newly established routine together.  I was now painfully aware that Edythe was in every single one of my classes, making it impossible to concentrate on anything.  I sat as far away from her as possible each time, gathering what comfort I could from the distance between us, yet I found myself glancing over my shoulder every five seconds.  Each time I did, I saw her face across the room. Still normal, still staring at me with brows furrowed in… concentration? Frustration? Her dark eyes were completely inscrutable.  Today, my fear of my fellow students discovering my true self yesterday seemed trivial and silly.  Today, I had caught the attention of someone dangerous.  She obviously knew I had seen her yesterday.  That must mean that I hadn’t imagined the events in the restroom at all.  This knowledge chilled me to my core, and I suddenly realized how truly stupid I had been to come here today. I wasn’t supposed to have seen what I saw. I sat forward, forcing myself to stop looking at her.  Now, more than ever before, I needed to keep a low profile.

I wasn’t able to eat anything at lunch, in spite of having skipped breakfast once again.  I ordered a soda and sat at my friends’ table, nervously twisting the bottle cap between my fingers, determined not to look over at the table where Edythe sat with her group. This action was so similar to my efforts yesterday when I was trying not to stare at Rosalie, and yet so completely different it was almost comical.  To keep myself from bursting into a random fit of laughter, I tried to concentrate on the conversation. Then Jessica suddenly turned to me and whispered “Edythe Cullen is staring at you!”

My instincts betrayed my better judgment and I slowly turned my head to look.  I was shocked and utterly confused by what I saw.  Edythe sat at the far table with Alice, Jasper, Rosalie, and Rosalie’s boyfriend whose name I still didn’t know, and they were _laughing._ The big guy was shaking his thick, curly hair and sending droplets of rainwater in every direction.  Edythe, Alice, and Rosalie were attempting to shield themselves from the deluge while Jasper smacked the guy on the shoulder with his lunch tray.  They looked like a regular group of kids having fun.  It was so completely opposite of how Edythe had looked all morning that I couldn’t begin to connect the two.  Maybe, in addition to imagining the face in the mirror yesterday, I was also imagining Edythe’s eyes following me everywhere I went?  I started to wonder if Forks was having a bad effect on me.

“No she’s not!” I whispered back at Jess.

“Oh.  Oops, my bad.” Jessica shrugged. I was more confused than ever. If Jessica had seen Edythe staring, then it wasn’t all in my head. But if she had made a mistake, and hadn’t seen Edythe staring at all… I sighed. This uncertainty was almost worse than the paralyzing fear I had felt this morning.

By the time the lunch hour ended, I knew the only way to know for sure if something was going on would be to confront Edythe face to face.  I did not like this prospect one bit, even though at lunch she had appeared entirely normal and non-threatening. I headed toward Biology, grateful that my companions were so utterly unobservant.   When I entered the room, I immediately saw Edythe in her seat at the back, next to the empty chair where I would have to sit.  I took a deep breath, then another, and another. Finally everyone else was seated and I no longer had an excuse to linger at the front.  I forced one foot forward, then the other, and slowly made my way to my seat.  Every muscle in my body screamed at me to stop and run the other way, but I persisted, stubbornly refusing to let this fear- rational or not- get the best of me. 

I took my seat, trying not to look at my lab partner but knowing I would have to.  I had no idea what to expect when I turned toward her.  Hostility like yesterday? That same curious expression from this morning? Or something entirely worse? But nothing could have prepared me for what actually happened. When I raised my gaze I saw that she was sitting sideways in her chair, facing me.  Her bronze-colored curls fell around her shoulders, framing an oval-shaped pale face with a faint hint of freckles across the bridge of her nose and the tops of her cheekbones.  Her eyes matched her hair, a shade darker than ochre and flecked with gold, somehow reminding me of fire. But most inexplicably, her lips were turned up at the corners.  The smile transformed her face into an expression of such innocence and beauty that all thought of malice toward her vanished. 

“Hello,” she said in a smooth even voice, “my name is Edie Cullen.”  

I gaped at her stupidly.  Finally my brain kicked into gear and I cleared my throat, embarrassed.

“Hi. I’m Bella.” I studied her face, searching for any sign of the frightening creature I’d seen just yesterday.  But her eyes were bright and clear, her skin a soft alabaster that almost shone under the florescent lights.  She was probably the only person in school more pale than myself. Nothing about her features suggested anything… unnatural. I closed my eyes and tried to clear my head.  When I opened them again she still looked just the same, only now her pleasant expression looked more confused.  She must be wondering if I was mentally stable, the way I kept staring at her.  I looked away unwillingly to listen to the lecture that had already begun.  Mr. Banner was passing out microscopes.  When our table was called I started to stand up to walk over and retrieve our microscope, but before I had even taken a step Edie was returning to her seat, microscope in hand.  How had she done that so quickly? I shook my head, now thoroughly convinced that my imagination has been running away with me.  Obviously the stress of the past few months had taken their toll on my mental and emotional state, causing me to hallucinate. It wasn’t that this girl sitting next to me could move faster than any human, it was that my brain was moving slower. I was sure of it.

 _Pull it together, Swan!_ I told myself to snap out of it and stop trying to look for things that simply aren’t there.

“Want to go first, partner?” Edie asked me, still trying to be friendly.

“Um… sure.” I pulled the microscope closer and looked into it. All I could see were a bunch of misshapen blobs. “What are we looking for again?”

“Phases of Mitosis.” She answered slowly, as if I were a person of limited mental capacity.

“Oh, right.”  I looked again.  Now I could see it.  “Anaphase.”

“Mind if I double-check?” She asked me, without even a hint of mockery. I slid the microscope over to her side of the table so she could have a look.  She quickly confirmed my answer and moved on to the next slide.  We continued with the lab in silence for a while, and soon we were finished, well ahead of the rest of the class. I was pleasantly surprised that there was at least one other student here in Forks who actually valued learning. Edie was obviously an accomplished student. So different from Phoenix.

Without the lab work to distract us, I was once again compelled to study Edie’s features. This time I tried to be more subtle, letting my long hair fall over my shoulder and peering at her from behind it. If I was completely honest with myself, the mystery of this girl had begun to fascinate me.  Once again, she was sideways in her chair looking at me as if puzzled by something.

“So why did you move to Forks, Bella?” It was the same question I had been asked over and over yesterday, but something about her tone made me feel like she was asking because she genuinely wanted to know, not because she was just trying to make conversation. I swiveled in my chair and swung my hair back over my shoulder.

“My grandparents passed away a few months ago.” I told her. I wasn’t sure why I had decided to tell her the truth right away. None of my new friends here knew the real reason for my move. Her eyes darkened in empathy at my answer.

“I’m so sorry.” She told me, and I believed her. Her face looked sad now, like she had experienced something similar and knew exactly how I was feeling.

“Thank you.” I replied.

“Were you close to them?” She asked, not insensitively but directly.

“Very. They pretty much raised me, since my mom was always working odd hours.”

“What happened?” She got right to the heart of things.

“Car accident. It was horrible. My mom was driving us all home from dinner. She never even saw the other car, but she blames herself every single day.” My voice wavered as I explained. I still couldn’t believe I was telling this stranger my life story. I couldn’t remember being so open with someone since… ever.

“That must have been incredibly difficult for both of you.”

“I don’t know if she’ll ever get over it. She’s… not doing very well.”

“Is that why she sent you to live with your dad?”

I frowned.  I didn’t remember telling her I had moved in with my father. She must have overheard the other students talking yesterday.

“No. She never would have wanted me to leave her. I sort of moved away without telling her.” Saying it out loud made me sound like a horrible person. I hung my head, ashamed.

“You didn’t want her to have to worry about you when she was going through something so terrible.” Edie said. It was a statement, not a question. I gaped at her.  How could she have understood me so quickly? She doesn’t even know me. She leaned forward to meet my lowered gaze.

“Hey, don’t feel bad. You did what you thought was the right thing. That takes a lot of courage.”

“You’re very perceptive.” I told her, my guard coming back up. I didn’t want anyone to understand me, let alone this perplexing person sitting beside me.

“It’s a gift.” She shrugged and turned away as if she also felt suddenly vulnerable.

As the bell rang to dismiss the class, I decided that I still needed to be wary of Edie Cullen, no matter how trustworthy she seems. I watched her disappear out of the room as if in the blink of an eye. I would wait and see.

As it turned out, I didn’t have to wait long.

This time the gym teacher let me sit out rather than injure myself or someone else trying to play volleyball. As I sat alone in the corner watching the others, I found myself wondering about Edie Cullen. If she had never spoken to anyone in school outside of her family, why did she speak with me today? How had she so easily reasoned out my motives for moving here? And what had really happened in the restroom yesterday?

I was so lost in thought that when the bell rang I wasn’t ready at all. I shoved my things back into my pack and hurried to grab my coat off the hook. As soon as I exited the gym I looked for her.  She was at the far corner of the parking lot, leaning up against a shiny silver Volvo and staring right at me. This time I met her gaze to be sure I wasn’t imagining it. I wasn’t. Our eyes locked for a full moment before I was distracted by the high-pitched squeal of brakes and the crunching and grating of tires skidding across ice. I watched as Edie’s expression changed to horror before I turned to face the sound. A van was barreling toward me, out of control. I was frozen where I stood, unable to force myself out of the way. Before I could even blink, someone’s arms circled my waist and pulled me around to pin me against the parked car next to me. I braced myself for the impact, but it never came. Instead the van curled around me, crunching against the car on either side of me. The sound was deafening. Eyes open wide, I whirled around to see what had prevented the van from flattening me like a pancake. It was Edie Cullen.

My mind could not make sense of what had just happened. One minute Edie was across a large parking lot, the next she was using her body as a human shield against a moving vehicle. To protect _me_.

“Edie, what-“ I tried to ask. Her hands were still on my waist. She jerked them away and glared at me. Icy tendrils of fear curled around my spine.

“Don’t say anything to anyone.” She warned me. Then she was gone.

 

**_Edie_ **

I was running as fast as I could through the forest. Again. What just happened? One minute I am plotting my most potent meal _ever_ , the next I am saving said victim’s life. In front of all of the humans. She saw me this time, I know it. I was supposed to take care of this, but all I did was make everything exponentially worse. I let a tree break my momentum and I sat down, knocking my head against the rough bark. The sound it made echoed back to me… _why?... why?... why?..._

I have no answer. Sure, today was the first time I conversed with someone other than my family in a _very_ long time. Sure, I’m completely infuriated by my inability to read this insignificant girl’s thoughts. And yeah, maybe I am a little bit fascinated by her mental silence, being that I have never encountered this in all my years. But none of these facts explain why I so willingly flaunted the strict code of my kind that forbids us to reveal our true natures to the humans we hunt.

The truth is I acted without thinking. Something I never, _ever_ do. I saw the projectile of the van and there I was, shielding her from certain death before I even knew that I had moved. The expression in her eyes when she turned to face me had made it clear: she knew I shouldn’t have been there. Now I have a serious problem.

I made my way slowly back to my family’s home, already knowing what awaited me there. As soon as the front door closed behind me they descended. Rose was first in line, her beautiful face twisted with pure rage.

“What have you done, you unconscionable lack-wit?” she screeched.

“Save it, Rosalie.”

“Rose is right, E.” Emmett chimed in from behind her. “You seriously screwed us.”

“Well, out with it.” Rosalie continued. “What was she thinking when you saved her? Is she rushing home to daddy Sheriff to tell him all about it?”

“I… I don’t know. I can’t… _hear_ her at all.” I finally admitted.

Rosalie was now in full fume mode. “Well, that explains why you’ve been even more surly than usual today!”

Alice spoke up then. “Edie, something is going on. I didn’t _see_ that anything was going to happen to the girl, and I’ve been _watching_ for her all day.” She was even more upset today than yesterday about her lack of _sight_.

“Wonderful. You’re telling me that this _human_ is completely immune to all of our abilities? Edie, why in the world would you risk all of our lives to save her? She is a liability and needs to be dealt with.” Rosalie’s words scathed.

“I have no idea why, Rose. It just happened.” I tried to explain, but I don’t even know the answer myself yet.

“Maybe one of us should… take care of this.” Jasper’s eyes glowed red at the thought of hunting her. I listened to his thoughts, and though they were incredibly similar to the ones I’d had just yesterday, I felt suddenly revolted.

“That’s out of the question.” Carlisle stood at the top of the staircase, looking down at us. “This girl is an innocent. Jasper, I know how far you have come. It would be a shame to ruin your progress.” His tone was kind, but Jasper hung his head in shame.

“Don’t worry about it Jazz.” I told him. “I thought about it too.” I peeked at Alice from the corner of my eye, knowing how she must feel about being left in the dark about my previous plans for the girl. Her usually angelic face was crestfallen.

“You… you were planning to _hunt_ her today? I should have let you run away like you wanted. Like the coward that you are!” She turned and ran, shoulders shaking with tear-less sobs. Jasper looked at me sympathetically before turning to follow her.

Esme came up and hugged me. “Don’t worry dear, you didn’t do anything wrong. You saved this girl’s life after all. We all have thoughts that… stray from time to time. It doesn’t mean you were going to act on it. Alice is just upset, you know how she hates not be able to _see_. She’ll come around.”

“You’re right, Mother. Thank you.” I decided not to mention how I had fully intended to act out my plot today. But that was before…

“Didn’t do anything wrong?!” Rosalie’s shrill voice cut across my thought process. “We are all at risk now! Am I the only one concerned about that?”

Carlisle joined us in the great room then. “It will be okay, Rose. We will figure this out together, as a family.”  

“Carlisle, I like it here. We can go outside almost every day. If we have to move again, we have to start all over. Again.”

“That may not be necessary. First, we need to determine what this girl knows, and what she plans to do with the information.”

“And how are we to do that, without Alice’s _sight_ or Edie’s mind-reading?”

“Well, we’ll just have to do it the old-fashioned way.” Carlisle grinned as if he were talking about an exciting puzzle, rather than the interrogation of a high-school girl.

Emmett leaned forward eagerly. “So what’s the plan? Stocks? Water torture? The rack?”

Carlisle coughed a laugh. “No, Emmett. Not quite that old-fashioned.” Emmett looked disappointed. “I meant we will just have to talk to her.” He turned to me. “Are you up for it?”

I gulped. Was I? Could I spend more time with this girl without wanting to rip her throat out? I controlled my thirst in class today, after glutting myself last night, but how long could I last?

“I’ll try.” I finally told him.

“Good, thank you. Let’s go.”

“What, now?”

“Of course.  They’ll be needing me at the hospital, and this Bella is sure to be there after the ordeal today.”

Half of me shuddered in dread at the thought of having restrain myself yet again, and the other half reveled in the prospect of giving in to my darkest desire.  This was getting exhausting.

“You had better not make this any worse.” Rosalie spat at me as she turned to leave with Emmett.

Esme squeezed my hand. “I know you can do this.” She smiled at me in her motherly way. I had to believe her. I had to try. Otherwise I was no better than the blood-thirsty beast that still existed deep inside of me. I would not let this inconsequential human prevent me from being the person I choose to be, rather than the monster I was forced into becoming so many years ago.


	4. Implications

**_Bella_ **

The parking lot erupted around me, kids screaming and crying. Somebody pried the door open on the other side of the van from where I stood trapped in between the two vehicles. The driver of the van crawled out, holding a hand to his bleeding forehead. He slumped to the ground and leaned against the wheel of the van, but seemed alert and coherent. Then the student body converged on me, firing questions all at once.

“Bella!” “Are you okay?” “Are you hurt?” “Can you get out?”

“I’m fine!” I held up my hands to stop the onslaught and show that I still retained my motor skills. I was evaluating my metal prison when the ambulance arrived. A paramedic jumped out and ran over to me.

“Whoa there, just hold still, we’re going to get you out in a jiffy!” He hopped over the hood of the car the van had smashed into and started examining my head. “Any tenderness there?”

“No, I’m fine.” I repeated to him. He shined a light into my eyes and tested my reflexes.

“You’re right,” he agreed, sounding amazed. “There’s not a scratch on you.” I tried to look at the scene from an outside perspective, noticed shards of glass all around and the van next to me with its Edie-sized dent in the side and realized how impossible it was for me to be standing here.

“The van just missed me.” I lied lamely. He considered my words for a moment with eyes narrowed.

“I think we should still take you to the hospital. You could have internal bleeding or head trauma.”

I was struggling to come up with a viable excuse to get out of being dragged to the hospital when my dad’s cruiser pulled up, lights flashing. Seeing me standing there in between the two wrecked vehicles sent him into a panic.

“Bella! Are you alright? What happened?” He shouted.

“It’s okay Dad, I’m not hurt.” I glared at the EMT when I said this.

The two men helped lift me out over the parked car and away from the wreckage. Charlie was looking at me like I would break apart right there.

“Stop it, I’m fine!” I rolled my eyes at him.

“She doesn’t appear to have any injuries, but-“ The medic started.

“But I am pretty shaken up, Dad. I really just want to go home.” I told my father pointedly.

“I don’t know, Bells, if you have a concussion or something… we should at least get some x-rays.”

“Nothing’s broken, I promise! Please, let’s just go.” The last thing I wanted was to be subjected to an inquiry about the accident at the hospital. Charlie looked to the EMT for guidance. He shrugged.

“I can’t require you to bring her in, and she doesn’t have a single obvious injury.” The concerned look was back in his eyes and I knew I had to get out of there before he started asking more questions.

“Great, so it’s settled.” I climbed into the cruiser to prevent any further discussion. Charlie got in on the driver’s side and started the car, still looking at me with huge brown eyes full of concern.  I stubbornly buckled my seat belt and stared out the windshield.

It wasn’t long before I realized we weren’t heading home.

“Where are we going?” I demanded.  Charlie didn’t need to answer, because at that moment we arrived at Forks Community Hospital.  “This is completely ridiculous, I’m fine!” I screeched.  

“I’ll believe that when Dr Cullen confirms it.”

“Dr…Cullen?”

“Yeah, he’s the best doctor we’ve ever had.  This town is lucky to have him.  Well, lucky his wife wanted to live in a small town that is.”

“Are there many Cullens here in Forks?” I asked tentatively.

“Just the Doc and his wife.”

“Do they, uh, have any kids?” There was no way it was a coincidence.

“Yeah, five teenagers!” Charlie answered, “all adopted.  You probably have a few of them in your classes.  There’s Rosalie and Jasper, the twins.  Emmett, Alice, and…what is the last girl’s name?”

“Edythe?” I ventured, though I already knew the answer.

“That’s it, Edythe. Great family, the kids are all very polite.  I was a bit skeptical when they moved down here, all those adopted teenagers.  But we’ve never had a bit of trouble with any of them.”

I sat back against my seat, mind whirling.  I was about to meet the adoptive father of my inexplicable rescuer.  Now I would really have to be careful what I said.  Definitely not my strong suit.

Something was nagging at my mind as Charlie walked me into the hospital.  Something about the Cullen family.  I mulled it over during the long wait in the waiting room.  Finally they called my name, and I was shown into a little room with a typical exam bed covered in crackly paper.  Then Dr. Cullen entered the room, and something clicked.

“Nice to meet you Ms Swan,” he began with a friendly smile.  “I’m Dr. Cullen.” His face was angelic, pure alabaster skin and perfect blonde hair.  None of his facial features matched any of his adopted children, but I would have recognized him as their father anyway.  I realized now that that was what had been bothering me.  The Cullens were not related, and yet they all looked the same.  Different hair and eye colors, but same clear pale skin, same inhuman beauty, same flawless appearance.  It was as if they had all been styled the same way, for a high fashion runway show or a Lexus commercial.  No one was that beautiful in real life.  And yet there he stood right in front of me.

“Now what seems to be the problem?” He asked genially.

“Nothing!” I replied too quickly. He chuckled.

“Chief Swan tells me you were in an accident?”

“Not really, I mean yes there was an accident, and I was sort of in it, but I’m not hurt at all.” I could hear myself babbling nervously, hoping against hope he wouldn’t ask me what had happened.

“I’m glad to hear that you weren’t hurt.” He replied. “Now let’s just make sure you don’t have any injuries.  Sometimes shock can make you feel like nothing’s wrong.  Better to be sure.”

I nodded.  My instincts were screaming at me in opposition.  I wanted to trust him immediately, something about him made me feel safe.  But I also knew that there was something about Edie.  Something…not human.  And this doctor, no matter how comforting he seemed, was probably in on it.

While my mind raced, he completed his general exam: testing my reflexes, shining a light in my eyes, ears, and throat and listening to my heart.  I was sure it was racing faster than my thoughts. His hands were colder than ice on my forehead as he felt gingerly for bruises or swelling.

“Well I don’t see any signs of injury.” He concluded.  I heaved a sigh of relief.  He made a note on his clipboard as he walked to the door.  “If you feel light-headed or weak, make sure you come right back in to see me. Looks like you were very lucky.” He opened the door and took a step outside.

“Lucky Edie was in an altruistic mood today.” I muttered under my breath after he was out of earshot. It was then I realized my grave mistake. Doctor Cullen’s hand froze on the doorknob just before closing the door.  Everything seemed to freeze around me as well.  I held my breath, waiting to see what he would do.

He opened the door enough to look back in at me.  His penetrating glare held me immobile for what felt like an eternity. Then he smiled again.

“I’ll let your father know I’m discharging you.  Go home and get some rest, Bella.”and with that, he was gone.

 

I waited a few minutes after he left to calm my nerves.  When the panic subsided I exited the exam room into the hallway, consumed with worry that I was getting involved with something beyond my realm of knowledge.  There was no denying it now- the members of the Cullen family were different.  But as to what exactly they were, I didn’t even have a guess. Scary faces in the mirror, extraordinary speed and strength, super-human hearing.  Individually, these things were intimidating enough.  Put them all together...what exactly was I dealing with here?

I was so lost in thought that when I rounded the corner and saw the back of Dr. Cullen’s head, the surprise set my heart to hammering again.  I gasped when he turned to look at me, and I spotted Edie on the other side of him.  I slowly took a step backwards, but before I could turn and go the other direction Dr. Cullen was suddenly standing in front of me.  He was still smiling, but I was beginning to notice that the smile was hard and did not reach his eyes.  It looked more like a habit he had perfected to put people at ease.  It wasn’t working.

“Um…” I stammered.  “I was just looking for my dad.”

“He’s just through here, in the waiting room.” Dr Cullen gestured past Edie to a set of double doors.  I tried to gauge the distance, wondering if I were to make a run for it would I get past Edie before they could grab me?  I instantly realized that would be impossible.  Even if I were the best runner in town- and that was a far cry from the truth- I would never make it.  I decided to take the opposite approach and stay still, like a deer who has sensed a predator.

Edie and her father exchanged a look that was inscrutable to me.  Then Edie took a small step forward and tilted her head to look at me.  “Bella, may I speak to you for a moment?” She asked.

I was still rooted to the spot, unsure where this was headed.  I felt trapped between the mysterious doctor and the even more enigmatic Edie.  My silence was only broken when Dr Cullen excused himself and turned back down the hallway from where I’d come.

Still I held my ground, waiting for Edie to explain my miraculous rescue, her transformation in the bathroom, anything. Finally she took a step toward me and it took everything I had not to bolt in the other direction.  Edie’s eyes narrowed; apparently she had noticed my muscles tense when she approached.

“Are you frightened?” She asked quietly.

I snorted in spite of the seriousness of the question, and the truth of it. It should be obvious: I was terrified. Her brows furrowed, as if my lack of an answer confused her. She looked at me again the same way she had in the foyer of school- was that only this morning?- as if she were concentrating very hard on something and just couldn’t quite figure it out.  Finally the suspense was too much for me.

“You owe me an explanation.” I blurted. Her eyebrows shot up.

“I saved your life, I don’t owe you anything.” she retorted. I jumped on the subject now that she’d opened the door.

“How did you do it? One minute you were across the parking lot, and the next you were right next to me, blocking a van with your body. You left a dent in the side of it and there’s not a scratch on you!” I could hear how crazy it sounded, so I stopped, grinding my teeth in frustration.

“No one’s going to believe you, you know.” She snapped defensively.

“I’m not going to tell anybody!” I exclaimed, knowing full well that they would send me directly to the funny farm.

“Well then why does it matter?” She demanded, her ocher eyes blazing.

“Because I need to know the truth.  I need to know-” I wanted to ask her if I was in danger, but bit back the words. I could feel tears building behind my eyes and hated them.  I only cried when I was frustrated.  If I let them come I would lose any ground I might have gained in this argument.  I clamped my mouth shut and waited.

“Can’t you just thank me and get over it?”she asked.  My eyes widened as I realized I hadn’t even thanked her for saving my life.

“Thank you,” I said. “Truly.  I know I wouldn’t be standing here right now if you hadn’t done what you did- whatever it was.” She nodded in acceptance.  “But I have to ask,” I continued. “Why did you do it?”She considered my question for a moment, her usually composed face suddenly vulnerable and open.

“I don’t know.” She whispered, and I believed her. Then the moment was gone. “But I do know that you need to stop asking questions and leave well enough alone.  You’re out of your realm here.” She warned, and I knew she was absolutely right.  But I also knew that I could never leave it alone, and the riddle would drive me mad.  I closed my eyes, took a deep breath, and shook my head no.

“Then I hope you get used to it.” Her voice was at its most acerbic.

“Get used to what?” My eyes flew open again to find her glaring down at me with a ferocious snarl that sent ice shooting through my veins.

“Disappointment.” And with that she was gone before I had even registered the word.

 

**_Edie_ **

I stormed out of the hospital as quickly as I dared.  Who does she think she is? She has no idea what she’s dealing with! This girl seemed to be doing everything in her power to dismantle my life.  First she moves here with her delectable blood just to tempt me to make a mistake, then she goes and almost gets herself killed, forcing me to save her life!  And now, now she is refusing to heed any of my warnings to leave us alone.  This is a disaster! I was pacing as I kept up my mental rant.  Her stubbornness is infuriating.  Why can’t she just be mindless like the rest of the humans? They never ask questions. They never get too close to us.  But she of all people had to be the one to notice, to really _see_.

That last thought stopped me short. Maybe there was something different about her.  She is immune to all of our powers, and her blood calls to me more strongly than any in the world.  This is something we have never once encountered, any of us, for all of the centuries we have existed. I stopped to ponder this new puzzle.  It seemed every time I encountered this girl, rather than answers I only got more questions.

I ran home, my thoughts swirling around the mystery that was Bella Swan.  The exercise helped to dispel much of my anger, and by the time I arrived I was merely irked rather than furious.  I stalked past Rose on my way to the stairs, ignoring her rapid-fire questions as I went.  After slamming the door to my room, I threw open the balcony door to let in the cool mountain air.  I flopped onto the chaise and hit the remote to my stereo.  Angry, violent music spilled out, echoing my mood perfectly.

Unlike last night, my thoughts were not overrun with plans to hunt and kill an innocent.  To my chagrin, I was completely consumed by the mystery of Bella.  Rosalie would say I was obsessed.  I let the loud music pound inside my head until all thoughts of the girl were banished and I fell into an uneasy sleep.

That was the first night I dreamt of Bella Swan.


	5. Declinations

**_Bella_ **

 

The next morning I found myself once again staring at my alarm clock, wide awake waiting for it to go off.  At this rate I was going to become a full-blown insomniac before the end of school.  Only this time, I was eager to get to school rather than dreading it.  The anger from yesterday’s argument with Edie had cooled, replaced by a deep sense of gratitude.  Something had driven her to help me yesterday, even though her actions had jeopardized herself. I had to find a way to let her know that her risk was not in vain: I was going to keep her secret- whatever it was- no matter what.

 

But when I arrived that day- early as usual- she was nowhere to be seen.  Probably sensing that I would harangue her with more questions the first chance I got, she made sure we were never left any opportunities to converse.  The first four classes she sat in her chair staring up at the ceiling, and at lunch her family sat without her.  That afternoon she arrived to biology seconds before the final tone of the bell.  Her eyes never met mine, but sometimes I could feel her gaze on the side of my head like she was trying to bore her way in.  Those moments made my skin tingle and burn.

 

The days following the accident crept by.  I felt a renewed sense of being the spectacle, like it was my first day all over again. The entire school wanted to know what had happened, and everyone kept reliving what they had seen in ever increasing hyperbole.  Luckily, no one had noticed Edie’s miraculous appearance- and even faster disappearance- so that saved me from having to lie to anyone.  Even so, I still felt dishonest when people told me how lucky I had been.  Luck had had nothing to do with it.

Tyler Crowley, the driver of the van, returned to school the following week.  He seemed to have taken an interest in me after our shared brush with death, and joined our group at lunch.  I liked being around him, his bright smile flashed against his dark skin and his eyes were always full of laughter.  I hoped we could be friends, but knew that I could never return his apparent affection. I had no idea how to even broach the subject with him.  I’d never had this problem in Phoenix.

 

Even worse, Jessica had been gushing about the upcoming Sadie Hawkin’s dance.  She had already invited Mike to go with her of course, and had now made it her mission to convince Angela to ask Eric and me to ask Tyler.  This was exactly the type of situation I had been dreading all of my life.  Sure, I could go to the dance with Tyler and have a great time, but I knew it would be a lie.  It wouldn’t be fair to him at all.  But what could I say?  Tyler you’re a great guy but I can’t date you because, well, you’re a guy?  My nerves went cold just thinking about it.  I wished more than anything that I could go back to being invisible like I was in Phoenix.

 

I set out to come up with a great excuse to get me out of the dance.  One that wouldn’t hurt anyone’s feelings and would not be an obvious cop-out.  I had zero options so far when Tyler and I walked to biology after lunch. To my surprise, Edie had arrived before we had.  I did my best to ignore her, trying to focus on what Tyler was saying.  Apparently I had failed, because he was looking at me expectantly.

“I’m sorry Tyler, what did you just say?” I felt my face flush with embarrassment.

 

“I was wondering if you would ask me to the dance?” He grinned with confidence.

 

“I thought it was girl’s choice?” I blurted, all plans of diplomatically excusing myself gone after he had caught me by surprise.

 

“It is, I just thought that maybe you had been planning to ask me, but since you’re shy you just hadn’t done it yet.”  His grin faltered.  “If you’re going with someone else…”

 

“No! No, it’s not that.  I just, I don’t really..” I was floundering.  Thinking on my feet had never be something I could do.  “It’s just that I’m going to Seattle that weekend.”  I finally told him, cringing inside at having to lie to him.

 

“Well, can’t you go some other weekend?” He persisted.

 

“Uh, no.  No I can’t, it’s already set in stone.”  My tone was flat now.  How was I supposed to let him know I was never going to be available for any dances without hurting his feelings?

 

“Oh well,” he replied, the cheer back in his voice.  “There’s always prom!” And with that the bell rang and he jumped off my desk to take his seat.

 

I blew out the breath I’d been holding and put my face in my hands.  My skin was hot to the touch and I just knew I was still a blotchy tomato-red color.  With my elbows on the desk I could feel the table shaking.  Curious, I dared a peek to my left and saw Edie looking right at me, shaking with laughter as she leaned against the blacktop.

 

“Is something funny?” I snapped, too humiliated to remember I wasn’t angry with her anymore.

 

“Poor Tyler,” she laughed.  “The guy had no idea what he was walking into just now.”

 

“And I suppose you knew what he was going to ask?”  She nodded, still laughing.  “Then why didn’t you at least warn me?” I hissed, anger rising quickly to the surface again.

 

“I wanted to hear what you would say to him.”  She sat back in her seat, clearly amused by my discomfiture.  “You know, you are an exceptionally terrible liar.”  She added.  She had stopped laughing, but a smile still remained on her lips.  It reminded me of the first day I had talked to her.  The beauty of her smile was enthralling, and I found myself once again staring at her stupidly.  Finally her smile began to fade.  The silence stretched and I felt I needed to say something- anything.  But the second bell sounded and Mr. Banner began the class.  I reluctantly turned away from her to give my attention to the lesson.  

 

I had trouble concentrating on what Mr. Banner was saying this class. I was uncomfortably aware of Edie’s closeness.  This was the first time she had spoken to me in weeks.  What had changed?  How could someone so infuriating be some sort of superhero?  After over-analyzing everything that had happened since I met Edie Cullen, that was the only conclusion I had come to.  She must be a superhero with superpowers.  It sounded stupid even in my head.  But what other explanation was there?  The curiosity was overwhelming.  I had to figure out a way to gain her trust, to thank her again and let her know she could trust me with whatever secret it was that made her so afraid of telling me the truth. I couldn’t believe I had gotten so tongue-tied.  How was I ever going to express my gratitude if I couldn’t even speak coherently to her?  I might not get a chance again for weeks!  

 

Before I had come up with anything even remotely resembling a plan, Edie bolted out of class just as the bell began to chime.  I stared at the empty door frame until Mike came over and tapped me on the shoulder.

 

“Earth to Bella!”  He called, and I shook my head to clear it before gathering up my things and following him out the door.

 

* * *

 

That night I made my dad his favorite meal- steak and potatoes.  I was about to call in a huge favor and wanted him to be in a good mood.  As we sat together relishing the delicious food, I finally broached the subject.

 

“Hey dad,” I started.

 

“Yeah Bells?”

 

“I was wondering if maybe I could borrow the old truck sometime? More specifically, the Saturday after next?”  My dad had this archaic red Chevy truck that he only used for his annual fishing trip up to Lake Pleasant with his best friend Billy Black.  It looked like a road hazard but had never broken down.  

 

“Oh yeah?” Charlie replied in between bites.  “What for?  Wait, I know.  It’s for that dance isn’t it?”

 

I groaned inwardly.  Did everyone in town know about that stupid dance? “Actually, no.  I was hoping to drive up to Seattle to check out some bookstores.”  It was a viable excuse.  He knew my prolific reading habit, and in truth I had already blown through all the books I’d brought with me.  Sadly, the town of Forks was too small to have its own bookstore.  It would be the perfect getaway.

 

“I’ll have to think about it.” He answered.  “You know, you should give this dance idea another shot.  Didn’t you say you’ve made some friends since you came?”  I stopped chewing mid-bite.  I knew this was a big favor, but I hadn’t counted on him saying no.  I wanted to be as far away from Forks as possible the day of this accursed dance.  

 

“Well yeah, but they’re all going with dates.” Was all I could come up with.  

 

“Didn’t anybody ask you?” He pressed.  This was going from bad to worse.

 

“It’s a girl’s choice dance, Dad.”  I told him.  He mulled that over a bit.

 

“I know you’re shy Bells, but if you give people a chance you might be surprised.  Who knows, you might even have fun.”  He looked at me with large brown eyes full of hope, the same eyes I had gotten from him.  I knew he wanted me to be happy here.  But I couldn’t bring myself to tell him the real reason why I wasn’t going to the dance.  “How bout this: you agree to think about going to the dance, and I will think about letting you borrow the truck.  Deal?”

 

Now it was my turn to mull.  I guessed this was the best offer I was going to get tonight, so I agreed. “Thanks Dad.” I said warmly, hoping to convey through my tone just how much I did appreciate the fact that he wanted me to be happy here.  He smiled back at me, and we finished dinner in companionable silence.

  


**_Edie_ **

 

Since the accident, I had been tasked with monitoring the girl to make sure she wasn’t revealing any of what she saw- or ‘thought’ she saw, as we would tell people- me do.  We had agreed not to kill her unless absolutely necessary, and it was my responsibility to determine if and when this necessity arose.  They were placing a great deal of trust in my ability to control myself.  I complained to my siblings that this was a punishment unfit to my crime, but secretly I was elated to have an excuse to watch her and listen in on her conversations.  I had become her happy vampire stalker.  In truth, I hoped that listening to a constant stream of meaningless drivel would help me to realize that her thoughts- no matter how hidden from me- were no different than that of her peers.  Then I would be rid of this damn curiosity that was infiltrating all aspects of my life.  

 

I had also hoped that over time, the continuous exposure to her fragrance would lessen the bloodlust in me.  I could not have been more wrong.  Each breath of the air around her was fire in my lungs and blood in my vision.  I was maintaining control, but just barely.  I knew that if I had not had centuries of work on controlling my darker appetites, she would already be dead.  I hadn't been responsible for the death of a human in hundreds of years, and I wasn’t about to start now.  I would not let her break me.

 

It seemed I was wrong on the first count as well.  Since I could not hear her thoughts, I was forced to observe her through the minds of others.  I generally abhorred the minds of humans- so petty and frivolous- so this was indeed my own personal retribution for saving the girl’s life.  But the more I listened, the more curious I became.  Her responses to normal conversation from her friends were never what I expected.  After years of listening unwillingly to every depraved thought the human mind could come up with, I felt I had heard it all.  It was easy to predict the turns a conversation would take.  I had also learned early on how to differentiate the sound of a lie, since i could always(until now) hear the truth behind it. It seemed to me, her silent observer, that she was often giving the responses that she thought her classmates wanted to hear, rather than the truth.  It was as if she were playing a part, and the real Bella was still hidden within.  It also struck me that she was much like my family in this way: playing the part of normal high school student.  But why would she do this, considering she is in fact a normal high school student and not a blood-crazy vampire?  It was maddening.

 

Then on an unremarkable day I reached my limit of curiosity containment.  The students had been buzzing about an upcoming formal- yawn- and of course Bella had been included in the conversations.  She had given mildly interested commentary when the topic had come up about her friends finding dates, but the moment a girl suggested that she invite someone as well everything changed.  Her heart rate sped up, along with her breathing, and her cheeks warmed with delectable blood just below the surface of her skin.  I was amazed that no one around her was able to hear her heart pounding- to me it blocked out every other sound.  Her reaction was similar to that of a person having a panic attack.   

 

In spite of being shy, Bella was usually calm and collected.  Nothing much seemed to bother her until today.  The final straw was when Tyler requested she invite him to the dance, and she lied to him.  In the past month of observations I had never once heard her give an outright lie. She omitted the truth often, that much was clear, and since none of her peers had thought to press her further she had gotten away with it so far. But now, with her heartbeat thundering in my ears, one thing became clear: my curiosity had overcome the bloodlust.  

 

The expression on her face when Tyler asked her to the dance was so comical I had to bite my cheek to keep from laughing out loud.  She looked as if he had asked her to turn herself into a goat.  I could smell the sweat on her palms and hear the catch in her breath.  She was more terrified in that moment than she had been when I spoke to her that day at the hospital.  Even more than the day she saw my face in the bathroom mirror.  What was it about the dance that could possibly be more terrifying than a vampire’s reflection?  I simply had to know what she was thinking.  I decided then and there that I would be the one to find out what made her tick.  This puzzle was just too good to pass by, no matter how sweet she smelled.

 

That night I glutted myself on not just one but five deer.  I had to be ready for tomorrow, when I would talk to the girl.  Just because curiosity had won out didn’t mean the desire for her blood was any less than it had been.  I couldn’t afford to make any mistakes.  

  


The next morning I arrived at school before any of the students.  I felt anticipation grow inside me and wondered at it.  I hadn’t felt this strongly about anything in decades.  What was it about this girl that had me waiting, eager to speak to her? How would she receive me?  I started to worry, remembering her fear at the hospital and her anger yesterday.  She probably wouldn’t want to speak to me at all.  I would have to come up with a way to earn her trust, let her know that I wasn’t going to hurt her.  Well, that I was going to do my best not to hurt her.  It was an impossible task, but I had to try.  

 

Finally, I spotted her trudging her way toward the school, hood drawn up and shoulders hunched against the cold.  She really didn’t like it here.  I replayed our brief conversation in yesterday’s biology class while I waited for her to approach, and that gave me sudden inspiration.  All the students were talking about this dance, so that’s what I would do.  Like a normal teenager.  And try not to make her mad this time.

 

She was looking down at the ground when she finally reached me.  I would have to do something to catch her attention.  I looked around to make sure no other students were around, then I quickly and silently pulled the zipper on her backpack as she walked past me, so that her books spilled out onto the pavement.

 

She groaned, staring down at the wet books as if it almost wasn’t worth it to pick them up.  I bent to help her and she started.

 

“How do you _do_ that?” she asked me, a little breathless.  

 

I handed her her books, neatly stacked in order. “Do what?” I asked innocently, though I knew perfectly well what she was referring to.

 

“Appear out of thin air.”  Her eyes narrowed, and I knew she was remembering the accident.  It might be better for me to avoid reminding her of that in the future. I decided to tease her rather than acknowledge her question.

 

“Honestly Bella, it’s not my fault that you are exceptionally unobservant.” I laughed, knowing that she was in fact the opposite.

 

“And here I thought I was just an exceptionally bad liar.” She spat, and turned to walk away from me.

 

“Wait,” I called after her.  When she did not stop I hurried to catch up.  Was I really running after a human? I shook my head at the absurdity of my situation.  “I’m sorry,” I told her.  “That was rude.  Not that it isn’t true, but it was rude of me to say it.”

 

“Oh really?” She snapped. “Which time?”  This was not going at all the way I’d planned.

 

“Both times.” I admitted.  “I’ve been very rude to you, and I feel badly about that.  Do you think we could start over?”  

 

She hesitated, and her silence was impossibly frustrating.  What was she thinking?

 

“I would like that, yes.”  She finally answered, and I breathed a sigh of relief.  

 

“Excellent!” I grinned, and she seemed taken aback.  Too much enthusiasm?  I tried to tone it down.  It had been too long since I’d interacted with a human on this level. “So,” I started again as we turned to walk into the building.  “Why do you hate dances so much?”  This probably shouldn’t have been my first question, but then I had never been known for my patience.  

 

“I don’t,” she replied, a little confused.  “Why do you ask?”

 

“Well, Tyler asked you to ask him to the Sadie Hawkin’s dance, and you lied to him about being out of town that weekend.”  I’d decided upfront honesty was the way to go.  I knew I was on the right track as I listened to her heart rate accelerate.  Was she about to lie to me too?

 

“Oh, that.” She mumbled, ducking her head.  I could still see the blood swirling under her skin as she blushed, even though she was trying to hide behind her hair.  An unfathomable urge to take my hand and tuck her hair back behind her ear swept over me.  I pushed the feeling away, now a little confused myself.  “I am going to Seattle that weekend.”  There was a false note to her statement, but it wasn’t really a lie.

 

“What’s so important in Seattle?” I pressed.

 

“Books,” she replied, her eyes lighting up at the prospect of visiting one of the nation’s most well-read cities.  I suddenly recalled that many of the books that had spilled out of her bag were classic novels, not just school texts.  I jumped on the chance to get her talking, sensing this was a favorite topic of hers.

 

“Of course! No bookstores in Forks.” I commiserated with her about that for a few moments, letting her warm to the discussion.  “Anything in particular you are looking for?”

 

“Something I haven’t read yet. Any suggestions?”

 

My mind quickly flipped through the extensive list of books I’d read in my lifetime.  I’d have to narrow this down.  “What’s your favorite genre?”

 

“Historical fiction.” She answered, and I almost laughed out loud.  My entire life was an historical fiction.  The list in my head narrowed and rearranged.  I started offering my suggestions, many of which she had read but some she hadn’t even heard of.  

 

“Thanks for the help,” her gratitude was genuine and heartfelt, and I found myself looking into her deep brown eyes.  I felt as if I could almost read her thoughts just by looking into her eyes.  Almost.  Her eyes told me there was more to her words than she let on, but I couldn’t fathom what it could be.  Then the moment was gone.

 

“Now if only you could help me convince my dad to let me borrow his truck so I can get up there,” she said.

 

“I could give you a ride,” I offered without thinking.  I instantly regretted it, imagining sitting in a small enclosed space filled with her scent for over an hour.  She would never make it.

 

She was hesitating over her answer again, and I could see intrigue combined with fear in her eyes.  Of course.  She was still afraid of me, afraid of the unknown.

 

“Thank you for the offer,” she said, “but I like to shop on my own.” Another half-truth, but this time I understood.

 

“No problem,” I shrugged, trying to seem casual.  We were saved from having to recover from the awkward turn our conversation had taken when the first bell rang.  We walked to class together and then took our separate seats.  I felt I was finally beginning to get a sense of her character, but once again she had left me with more questions than answers.


	6. Blood Test

**_Bella_ **

 

I stumbled into English, feeling disoriented after my conversation with Edie.

 

“Nice of you to join us Ms Swan.” Mr. Mason drawled sarcastically.  My face flushed as I realized class had already begun.  Edie was- infuriating as always- sitting neatly in her usual seat.  How in the world had she gotten here before me? I glared at her as I took my seat at the back of the room.  It just wasn’t fair that she was always catching me off guard while she herself remained the picture of composure.

 

Tyler and Mike met me at the door when class ended.  They were both bubbling over with excitement about a trip to the beach they had planned for the weekend.  The weather was supposed to be nice, which for Forks meant over 40 degrees and only partly cloudy.  I was skeptical, remembering my childhood trips in the cold and the wet.  Beaches are supposed to be sunny and warm.  But the boys’ enthusiasm was infectious, and I found myself agreeing to come along.

 

The rest of the morning flew by and Jessica, Angela, Lauren, Ben, and Eric joined in on the beach plan.  They were all talking about it excitedly when I arrived at the cafeteria.  My eyes immediately looked to the table across the room where the Cullens always sat, but to my sudden and unexpected dismay Edie was not with them.  Where had she gone after class? Why did I feel so disappointed that she wasn’t here? I puzzled over that for a moment while we waited in the lunch line.  

 

“Bella, aren’t you going to get some food?” Jessica asked me when she noticed I was just standing there.

 

“No, I’m not very hungry.” I answered, but grabbed a lemonade just to have something to hold.

 

“Edie Cullen is staring at you again.” She whispered as she took her tray to our usual table.  My heart stuttered, and I looked around frantically expecting her to jump out from behind me.  Then I saw her sitting at a table by herself, looking right at me.  I felt the weight of her gaze like lead in my feet, rooting me to the spot. And then, amazingly, she raised one delicate arm and curled her finger in twice, beckoning me to her. I gulped, and then shook my head to clear it.  What was wrong with me today?

 

“I’d better go see what she wants,” I mumbled to Jess, then wove my way through the tables until I was standing across from Edie.  She was smiling a crooked smile, and it was hard to believe that someone could be so beautiful in real life.  I waited, unsure if she had been serious this morning when she said she wanted to start over.

 

“Will you sit with me today?” She asked pleasantly.  Her face was open, her voice friendly. I still didn’t exactly trust her, but I wanted to keep my promise to myself that I would let her know that she could trust me.  I pulled out the chair and sat down.

 

“So what are we, like, friends now?” I managed to say, cursing my inability to articulate in her presence.

 

“Friends…” she mulled the word over as if it were a bite of food she didn’t know if she liked.

 

“Or not…” I mumbled.  This was going to be more difficult than I thought.

 

“Let’s just say I wouldn’t be a good friend for you.” She told me, and behind her smile the warning was real.

 

“Oh…” My brain kicked into gear now, and it occurred to me that maybe she hadn’t been avoiding me just out of fear of my questions, but also to protect me.

 

“But I’d be willing to try.” She added.

 

“Why the change in heart?” I asked her.

 

She thought about her answer for a while.  “I’m curious about you.” She finally said.

 

“Really?” I was incredulous.  What could possibly be interesting about me, compared to someone who could move faster than the eye could follow and stop a moving van from crushing me? “Why?”

 

“You’re not like anyone I’ve ever met before.” She said this as if it were a novelty of immense proportions.  I didn’t know whether I should be flattered or frightened.  Now it was my turn to mull.  As the silence stretched on I could see her scrutinizing me the way she had the first time we spoke, as if she was trying open up my head and look inside.  I was getting more and more uncomfortable until finally she broke the silence.  “What are you thinking?”

 

“I was trying to figure out what you are.” I answered honestly.

 

Her face fell.  “Having any luck?”

 

My superhero idea immediately sprang to mind.  “You were sent here from the planet Krypton?”

 

She laughed, suddenly and heartily.  The sound was like the ringing of bells, and I found myself grinning in response.  “You’re a billionaire with a bat cave full of gadgets?” I continued, and she laughed harder.  “You’re a military experiment who was frozen in time until America needed you again?”

 

“That’s closer,” she said through her laughter, and then her face went instantly sober.

 

“What’s wrong?” I asked, worried I had offended her.

 

“I always say too much when I’m around you.” She admitted.  

 

I gaped at her.  “You’re kidding, right?”

 

“Of course not.” Her brow furrowed.

 

“It’s just that, well, you haven’t told me anything at all!” I was getting exasperated now.

 

She looked at me intently.  “I will tell you one thing, and I need you to really listen.”  I nodded, intrigued.  “What if I’m not a superhero?  What if I’m the villain?”

 

The truth of this statement washed over me.  “You’re dangerous.” I stated.  I had sensed that from the very beginning.

 

She nodded gravely.  “So you do understand.”

 

“I saw you that day, in the bathroom.  I saw your face.”  

 

Her lips pressed together tightly. “That never should have happened.” She put her face in her hands, distraught.  

 

I suddenly wanted to do something, anything to make her feel better.  “I haven’t told anyone what I saw.”

 

“I know.” She told me.  “I was monitoring you.”  I bit back the slew of questions that that statement brought on.  “Why didn’t you?”

 

“I thought I was losing it!” I laughed, trying to lighten the mood again.  “I wasn’t sure what I had seen, so I decided to go to school the next day to see you again.  You seemed, if not normal, at least not scary.”  She laughed this time, and I was relieved at the sound.  I sensed this was my chance.  “That was the day you saved me.  That is how I know that, even if you are dangerous, you are definitely not a villain.  I  will never betray your secret.  I owe you my life.”

 

“What you must know is this: that wasn’t the first time I saved your life.  The first time was the day you walked into biology and took your seat next to me.  Since then I have been saving you, every minute of every day, from myself.”  She stopped to let her words sink in. I was so shocked by this new information that I couldn’t speak.  “So you see, Bella, I am most definitely a villain.”  

 

She sat back in her chair, studying me.  I was waiting for the fear to take hold of me, but it never came. Instead, I was filled with even more curiosity about this being that sat across from me.  I opened my mouth to ask a question, but I was interrupted by the bell signalling the end of lunch hour.

 

“I think your friends are waiting for you,” she said. I glanced past her toward the door, where Jessica and the others were indeed standing there waiting for me.  It then occurred to me that Edie couldn’t see them from where she was sitting.

 

“How did you-” I started to ask, but she silenced me with a hand in the air.   

 

“Suffice it to say, people usually follow patterns.  The bell rings, they walk to the door.  It makes most of them quite predictable.”

 

I wondered at the strange way she emphasized _most_.  I still had so many questions to ask, and I was reluctant for our conversation to end.  Would this be the last time she spoke so openly with me?  I stood up and grabbed my bag off the floor, trying to shake the feeling.  Edie stayed put, though the cafeteria was nearly empty now.

 

“Aren’t you going to class?” I asked her.

 

“Nope.” she grinned. “It’s healthy to ditch now and then.”  For a second I thought she might ask me to stay with her.  I longed for the chance to ask her more questions, since she was in such an informative mood.  But I also had never ditched class before.  Since she didn’t invite me to stay, I started to walk towards the door.  As I passed her seat, I stopped for one last question.

 

“Will you do me a favor Edie?” I found that I liked the sound of her name as I spoke it.

 

“That depends…” She was back to being guarded.

 

“Could you give me a heads-up the next time you decide to ignore me for my own good?”

 

She blinked, surprised.  “That sounds reasonable.” She agreed.

 

“Thank you.”  And with that I left for class.

  


**_Edie_ **

 

I walked through the rain to my car, thinking about everything that had just transpired.  Had I revealed too much?  I was trying to impart a warning to this girl, but it didn’t seem to have worked.  Her gratitude was overshadowing her common sense, that much was obvious.  I was glad that her theory about me had been so far off.  A superhero, really?  If only she knew the truth.  But as perceptive as she was, would she figure it out on her own?  I was walking a dangerous path by continuing my involvement with the girl.

 

I sat in my car and turned the key to run the stereo.  My favorite CD started to play, and I relaxed into the music, staring out through the rain toward the school.  My head was back against the headrest, eyes half-closed when it happened.  

 

The door to building four crashed open and out came Tyler Crowley, supporting a limp and faint-looking Bella Swan.  I was out of the car before I even realized what I was doing.  Luckily I had the afterthought to check my speed just before Tyler looked up at my approach.  I was getting too careless.

 

“Bella?” I called to her, but she slumped to the ground and laid her cheek on the wet pavement.  As I neared them, I could smell the tiny pinprick of blood welling on Tyler’s fingertip.  I froze, waiting for the surge of bloodlust.  To my surprise, it never came.  I realized then that nothing would ever compare to the scent of Bella.

 

Tyler’s mental anguish was screaming inside my head.  He really did seem to care for her. “What happened?” I asked him, and crouched down so I could look at her face.  She was pale- more so than usual- and her skin was moist with sweat.

 

“We were blood-typing in biology today,” he told me.  I nodded, already aware of this fact- hence the ditching of class today, “and as soon as she saw the needles she just dropped.” I exhaled in relief that it was nothing serious.

 

“Thanks Tyler, I’ll take it from here.” I told him.

 

“But I’m supposed to take her to the nurse,” he protested, and Bella groaned.

 

“She’ll be fine, I promise.” I was calm and confident, leaving no room for argument. “You should just go back to class.” He shrugged, and, not knowing what else to do, turned and went back inside.

 

“Bella, can you hear me?” I asked her gently.

 

“No,” she said defiantly, and I chuckled.  I was about to take a momentous risk now. I turned my face away from her into the drizzling rain and sucked in a huge breath of fresh air.  Then I held my breath and turned back to her.  I gently placed my hand under her shoulder and helped her into a sitting position. The rain made her more fragrant, I could taste her scent on the back of my throat without even inhaling.  The beast inside me roared to life when I touched her; telling me to pull her close, press my lips against her neck.  Just a little taste...I clenched my teeth and fought down the monster.  The need was so strong I felt I would be rent in two.  But I was stronger.

 

“Bella, look at me please.” Her eyes fluttered open, her pupils retracting as she focused on my face.  I was using my extensive medical training as well as my extra _gifts_ to assess her vitals.  I could hear that her heart rate was normal and her breathing even.  She really was fine.

“You were right.” She told me.

 

“I usually am,” I answered, curious. “But about what in particular?”

 

“It’s healthy to ditch class.” I laughed, relief sweeping through me.  “Why are you still here?” She continued. “I thought you’d left after lunch.”

 

“I still have to wait for my family.  We all came in my car.” I told her.  Then an insane idea occurred to me.  “Would you like to wait with me?  If you go back to class now you’ll just have to turn around and leave again.”  I was still convinced that prolonged exposure to her scent would reduce my sensitivity to it.  What better time to test my theory than the present? If it didn’t work I could always just get out of the car.

 

“Okay.” She agreed, and I carefully helped her to stand.  She took a deep breath and turned her face up into the rain, letting the water wash over her.  It struck me then that she was quite beautiful, for a human.  Her rain-soaked hair was curling into dark ringlets down her back, and when she tipped her head back down to look at me I felt caught in her deep brown eyes.  I found myself staring into their depths, wondering for the thousandth time what she was thinking.

 

“Shall we?” I asked her, blinking to break the trance I’d fallen into.  We walked across the parking lot to my Volvo.  I got in the driver’s side and turned on the engine to get the heater going for her.  It sputtered and emitted a faint burning smell, reminding me that it had never been used.  I hoped it would still work.  Bella climbed into the passenger seat and I braced myself.  Sure enough, the wave of her scent slammed into me and once again I battled my internal demon.  Did I imagine that it was just a tad bit easier this time? Wishful thinking, I told myself.

 

The heat finally kicked in, and Bella sat in her seat angled toward me, fanning her hair in front of the vent to dry it.  This magnified her scent ten-fold.  I held my breath and clenched the door handle, ready to bolt the second it became unmanageable.  My entire body was burning, surely the fire would destroy me any minute now.  I didn’t know how long my agony lasted, but suddenly Bella spoke, and her voice helped to clear my head.

 

“Clair de Lune?” She was asking me.  I fought through the haze of bloodlust, trying to make sense of her words.  After a moment I realized she was referring to the song playing on the stereo.

 

“You know Debussy?” I asked her, surprised.  Most humans had no appreciation for the classics.

 

“I took piano lessons when I was a kid,” She told me.  “This was one of my favorites, but Beethoven most of all.”  I smiled, trying to picture her as a child at a piano.  

 

I knew I had to keep the conversation going, to distract myself from wanting to tear into her.  

 

“Bella, what happened to you in class today?” I asked her.

 

“I have a weak vasovagal system,” she joked, and I coughed out a laugh in spite of the fire tearing at my throat. This girl is funny, I realized.  She was also evading the question.

 

“I highly doubt that,” I told her gently, and waited to see if she would tell me the truth.

 

She shuddered.  “Mr. Banner was passing out the lab equipment for blood typing, and as soon as I smelled the chemicals and saw the needles I lost it.  It was like I was right back there, in the hospital after the accident.”  She got quiet, and I waited patiently for her to elaborate, if she wished.  “I was hooked up to all of these machines,” she recalled.  “There were needles stuck in my arms.  My whole body hurt, and the smell- that hospital smell.  My mom was in the bed next to me.  Then they came to tell us what had happened, that grandma and grandpa were gone.”  She was silent then, a silence filled with memory and sadness.  But her eyes were dry.  I realized then how strong she was, to have gone through that and still have the capacity to remove herself from her home in order to give her mother the chance to heal.  She was entirely selfless.

 

Her sadness was heartbreaking.  I had a sudden urge to draw her out of it.  “What is your mother like?” I asked her, hoping it wouldn’t be too fresh a wound to open.  

 

She smiled; my instincts had been right.

 

“She’s silly and sensitive, and very indecisive.  She will work song lyrics into any conversation and sing them.  She’s my best friend.” Her face fell.  “I miss her so much.”  Her sadness again was palpable.  

 

“Have you heard from her?” I asked gently.

 

“No.  She’s not allowed phone privileges yet.  That has been the hardest part.  We went from talking every single day, to not at all.”  She stared out the window morosely.  For one wild second I wanted to reach over and embrace her, to let her know she was going to be okay.  What was I thinking?  I wanted to do something to ease her pain, but didn’t know what.

 

“What about Phil?” I asked the first question that popped into my mind.  

 

She looked at me, puzzled.  “What about him?” She asked hesitantly.

 

“Have you spoken with him since moving here?”

 

“No, but my dad has.” She didn’t seem to want to talk about him, so I pressed her.

 

“Do you not like him?”

 

“No, Phil’s fine.  He’s really good to her, and she’s crazy about him.  That’s all that matters, isn’t it?”

 

“I suppose.” I paused, then asked the next question that popped up.  “I wonder, do you think she would extend the same courtesy to you?”  I was more confused than Bella looked.  What made me ask that question? “I mean, no matter who your choice was?”

 

Bella’s heart was hammering in her chest now, her eyes were wide and her full lips slightly open in shock.  It appeared I had hit a nerve that I wasn’t even searching for.  

 

“I have no idea,” she whispered, her voice tinged with fear.  This girl was terrified.  What was she so afraid of?  I was suddenly reminded of her conversation with Tyler yesterday, and her similar reaction to being asked to the dance.  Something about dating...did she have a secret love?  Someone she would never want her mother to find out about?  Suddenly the answer hit me: Phil.  She had been reluctant to talk about him.  It was the only logical explanation.  What could be more taboo than being involved with your mother’s husband?  I proceeded with caution.

 

“And Phil?  What would his reaction be if you brought someone home to meet them?” I was really pushing now, determined to unlock the mystery of what had this girl so scared.  To my surprise, her heart began to slow again rather than accelerate.  Had I guessed wrongly?  

 

“I don’t think he would have much opinion.  He seems like a pretty open-minded guy.” I could tell by her pulse that this answer was honest and forthright.  What was I missing?  

 

To my dismay, the final bell rang and students began pouring out of the school buildings.  My family would soon be here.  

 

“So will I see you at the beach tomorrow?” Bella was asking me as she opened the car door to leave.

 

I got out of the car as well, my hands out palms-up in the rain.  “Good weather for sunbathing!” I joked to mask my disappointment at failing yet again to uncover the mystery of Bella.  

 

She laughed.  “They tell me it’s going to be sunny-ish.”

 

I frowned.  The beach was definitely out then.  “Unfortunately I already have plans.  Camping with the family.” I told her, though hunting would have been a better description.

 

“Oh,” she actually sounded disappointed.  “Well, have a good weekend.”

 

“Thank you, you as well.” She turned and started walking across the parking lot.  Out of the corner of my eye I glimpsed my family by the doors, watching us intently.  I could hear their surprised thoughts as they saw me conversing yet again with the girl.

 

 _Idiot!_ That was Rosalie, her objections the loudest.

 

 _Lost her mind, poor kid._  Emmett still could not fathom what could be so fascinating to me about a human.

 

Jasper had caught Bella’s scent and was fighting down the bloodlust, though for him she was only slightly more tempting than any other human.  He didn’t understand my predicament either.

 

 _Can I talk to Bella now?_ Alice was looking at me while she thought, knowing I could hear her.  Like me, the mystery of why our gifts did not work on this particular human was driving her mad.  But I had called dibs.  I decided to provoke them all further, just for fun.

 

“Bella?” I called to her as she walked away.  She turned to face me.  “Will you do something for me this weekend?”  

 

She backtracked until we were face to face again.  “Yes?”

 

“Try not to fall into the ocean or get run over while I’m gone, would you?”

 

She glared at me, incensed at my implication that she couldn’t take care of herself.  “I’ll do my best!” She spat, and stomped off.  It was just too easy, goading her like that.  I felt a strange satisfaction that I was able to get under her skin, like I was beginning to understand her even without reading her mind.  Plus, the subtle reminder to my siblings that we were still keeping her alive was a bonus. They joined me then, five vampires piled into a Volvo hatchback, and I laughed all the way home.


	7. Mythology

**_Bella_ **

 

I walked home in the rain, feeling unnerved by the conversation I’d just had with Edie. Even though she was the only one who knew the reason why I had moved to Forks, I didn’t remember actually telling her that my mom was in rehab.  Plus, I knew for a fact that I had never mentioned Phil’s name to her.  I had tried to play it cool so that she wouldn’t notice that I knew something was off.  I hoped that it had worked.  I was once again in the position of knowing that I held clues to dangerous information about Edie Cullen.

 

I contemplated numerous explanations as I walked.  My first thought was that she had overheard me talking about my mom or Phil, but I quickly dismissed that notion.  I hadn’t discussed my personal life with anyone other than my dad.  I thought back to the comment she had made about monitoring me.  This had to be a part of it.  But monitoring me how?  I pictured phone bugs and email hacks but shook my head.  Somehow I knew that Edie would not need to resort to such _human_ tactics.  I was almost home when the realization hit me: she must be able to read minds.  That would explain everything; how she had seemed to know exactly how I was feeling that first day we spoke, how she knew I hadn’t spilled her secret since the crash, and how she knew about my current family situation.  Would that be so unreasonable for someone who also was stronger and could move faster than humanly possible?

 

Then I stopped dead.  If she could read my mind, that meant she knew _everything_.  I felt a cold sweat break out on my palms and I had difficulty catching my breath.  This was a disaster!

 

That night at dinner I was quiet, more so than usual.  Charlie actually had to try to make conversation.  I told him about the trip to La Push beach tomorrow, and he became enthusiastic.  Not only does he value outdoor activities, but I think he was glad to hear that I had plans with my new friends outside of school.  Then he jumped the gun and called up his best friend Billy Black to tell him that we were going to the reservation tomorrow, and asked him to have his son Jacob meet us there.  I was mortified.  It reminded me too well of the play-dates Charlie had set me up on when I used to come up here every summer as a kid.  They were always awkward.

 

I awoke the next morning to actual sunlight streaming through the window.  My dark mood lifted considerably, and I opened the window and let the rays warm my face.  Maybe today wouldn’t be so bad after all.  Charlie drove me to Newton’s Olympic Outfitters on his way to work.  Mike was already there, being that it was his parents’ store.  I also spotted Jessica with him, and Angela and Ben.  They all looked up excitedly when I joined them.

 

“You made it!” Mike exclaimed.

 

“Yeah, I said I was in.  Thank god the sun’s out!” I was grinning, elated to be outside in the sunshine.  Even though it was barely 60 degrees out, it felt like summer after weeks of clouds and rain.

 

“We’re just waiting for Tyler, Eric and Lauren.” Jessica told me.  Not even the prospect of Tyler flirting with me could dampen my spirits today.  Once everyone had arrived we all piled into Mike’s Suburban.  I called shotgun and hauled myself up into the front seat, where I would be sure to absorb as much sunlight as possible.  I rolled the window down and took it all in.

 

As we drove west on the 110, I started to recognize the drive I had made many times with my dad as a child.  After 15 miles of emerald forest, the trees ended abruptly and there was the ocean in front of us.  It was gray and misty, fading into the sky almost imperceptibly.  We parked and jumped out, ready to explore.  The rocky beach was littered with huge pieces of driftwood.  We made our way to a fire-pit that looked well-used.  Eric and Ben started breaking off branches from some of the driftwood trees to use as firewood.  

 

“Have you ever seen a driftwood fire?” Tyler asked me as I took a seat on one of the larger driftwoods.

 

“No,” I answered, curious.  He took a match and set it to the dried wood he had placed in the firepit.  The wood caught, and as the flames licked upward I could see tones of blue mixed in with the orange fire.

 

“It’s the salt,” he told me as I watched the flames, entranced.  I was really beginning to enjoy myself.  All of my fears and theories seemed silly now in the presence of sunlight and waves and laughter.  

 

A little while later a group of native kids came over and joined us.  I knew one of them must be Jacob Black, Billy’s son, but I couldn’t remember what he looked like.  The level of revelry increased with the newcomers, and I kept off to the side, uncomfortable as always around people I don’t know.  Jessica saw me and came to join me on my driftwood bench.

 

“So where’s your new best friend?” She asked me.

 

“Who?” I responded, confused.

 

“Edythe Cullen.  After yesterday at lunch I figured you two were bff’s.”  I just stared at her.  “She’s never sat with anyone besides her family before.  What did you two talk about?”

 

Now I understood.  She was fishing for gossip.  No one had ever broken into the Cullen circle before me.  “Oh, we just talked about that Macbeth paper that’s due.” I lied lamely.

 

Jessica frowned, obviously disappointed by my answer.  “Well, didn’t you invite her and her family to come today?  Her brothers are gorgeous!”  

 

“Um, what about Mike?” I reminded her.

 

“Oh it’s not like I’d ever do anything behind Mike’s back!  But there’s no harm in looking, right?”  She giggled conspiratorily.  I just nodded. “So are they coming today?” She pressed.

 

“Well I did ask,” I finally relented, “But Edie said they were going camping this weekend.”

 

“Too bad.  We would have been the talk of the school if the Cullens started hanging with us!”  Jessica made it sound they were a prize or something.  Then I noticed one of the native kids, the tallest boy, watching us.

 

“Are you talking about Dr. Cullen’s family?”  He asked seriously.

 

“Yeah, why? Do you know them?” Jessica turned to him.

 

“The Cullens don’t come here.” He answered shortly, making it clear the subject was not up for discussion.  Jessica pouted, then turned back to me.

 

“Well Bella, see if you can convince them to come next time, ok?”

 

“Sure,” I agreed, but found it almost impossible to picture Evie here among my school friends.  Yes, we attended the same school, but Edie felt like she was a world apart.  Then once again I noticed one of the native boys watching us, this time the youngest of the group.  He walked over to me, smiling, and took Jessica’s seat on the driftwood after she walked back over to Mike.

 

“Did I hear your name is Bella?” He asked.  His smile was warm and friendly.  “I’m Jacob, my dad told me to look out for you today.”

 

“Oh yeah, you’re Billy’s son right?  I’m sorry I didn’t recognize you before.” I told him, warming to his smile.

 

“No worries, it’s been forever.  You would remember my sisters though, Rachel and Rebecca.”

 

“Oh, that’s right,” I cleared my throat nervously. “Um, how are they doing?” I remembered Rebecca _very_ well.

 

“Rachel got married and is going to Washington State, and Rebecca moved to Hawaii.”

 

“Wow, married?”  I was shocked.  The twins were only a couple of years older than me.

 

“Yeah,” Jacob shrugged, “It’s kinda weird now with just me and my dad.  But Rebecca comes home for holidays and stuff.  Hey that reminds me,” he grinned and his voice got quiet.  “She told me about you, about how you kissed her the summer before freshman year.  Want me to let her know you’re back in town?”  He wiggled his eyebrows at me and my heart dropped into my stomach.  How could she do that?!  Why would she have told anyone? I couldn’t get enough air into my lungs and I was making a weird gasping sound.  The sky around me spun and I held onto the driftwood to keep myself upright, closing my eyes tightly.  

 

Then I felt a strong hand on my shoulder.  I opened my eyes and found myself looking into Jacob’s earnest face, full of concern.

 

“Hey, are you alright?”  I nodded, not trusting myself to speak yet.  “Look, I didn’t mean to freak you out.  I haven’t told anyone or anything.  If it makes any difference, I’m cool with whoever my sister decides to date.  No judgement here.” He held up his hands, and his face was so worried I had to let him off the hook.

 

“For the record, I’m not dating your sister.” I told him.

 

“Oh yeah?  Someone else then?”  His playful grin was back, and I couldn’t help but smile in return.

 

“No, no!  No one here knows about me.  No one anywhere knows about me.  Well, except for you apparently.”  And possibly Edie...

 

“That sounds lonely.”  He sympathized.

 

I suddenly realized how true that was.  I’d always held myself at arm’s length away from everyone, afraid to let them see me. What was I so afraid of?  I decided then and there to give Jacob Black a chance.

 

“Let’s get out of here,” I told him.  “Can we get to the tide pools from here?”  I’d always loved the tide pools, but I’d never find my way there alone.

 

“Sure, let’s go!”  Jacob seemed up for anything, and his enthusiasm was contagious.  I told the group I’d be back in a bit.  Lauren sniggered at us as we walked away together, and Tyler looked up in dismay.  They must think we’re going somewhere to be _alone_.  I didn’t bother to correct them.  I knew I should feel bad for not letting Tyler down directly, but I never knew how to handle these types of situations.  Maybe if he thought I was with Jacob he’d back off.  

 

We trudged through the foliage until we re-emerged at another section of the beach.  It was low-tide, and we were able to jump and climb over the rocks to see the shallow pools that never fully drained when the tide went out.  Jacob and I exclaimed over the colorful sea life within them, pointing out our favorites.  I already felt comfortable around him, like he was my long-lost brother.  I was amazed at how different it felt, being around someone who knew my secret.  It was as if a huge weight had been lifted off my shoulders.  I felt giddy and lightheaded, and I couldn’t stop grinning and laughing.  Jacob didn’t seem to mind my goofiness, he laughed right along with me as I jumped from rock to rock.

 

Finally I sat on a ledge overlooking the largest pool to catch my breath.  Jacob sat down next to me.  “So why did your friend ask you if you had invited the Cullens?”  He asked me.

 

I sucked in my breath, my exuberant mood darkening.  “No reason.” I lied.  I guess it was back to secrecy again.  “Why did your friend say the Cullens don’t come here?” I countered, trying to divert the conversation away from myself.  

 

“Um, I’m not really supposed to talk about that.” His dark brown eyes filled with consternation.

 

“Oh come on! You know my secret, now it’s my turn.” I punched him lightly on the shoulder and his grin returned.

 

“Okay fine.  But you have to swear not to tell a soul.”

 

I put a hand over my heart.  “Scouts’ honor.” I answered.

 

“Alright, where do I start…I guess you need to know some of the Quileute history first.  That’s my tribe.  They say that we are descended from wolves, and that wolves are our brethren- it’s against tribal law to kill them.”  I listened raptly, wondering how the Quileute history could possibly have anything to do with the Cullen family.  “It’s said that to this day we share a blood-tie with the wolves, and that selected members of the tribe can even turn into wolves when we are threatened.”  He paused to let this sink in.  Apparently he didn’t realize how open I was to the idea that people around here might be a little...different.  He noted my lack of reaction and continued.  “And then there are the stories about the Cold Ones.”

 

My breath caught, remembering the icy cold hands of Dr Cullen.  “The Cold Ones?” My voice shook.

 

“My great-grandfather was a tribal elder the last time the Cold Ones showed up.  See, they are the natural enemies of the wolves.  The tribe called a war council to hunt them down, but my great-grandfather stopped them.  He said that these Cold Ones were different somehow, that they didn’t hunt people.  So he made a treaty with them, that if they agreed to stay off our lands and never harm a human being while they lived here, the tribe would leave them alone and not expose them to the pale-faces.” He winked at me.  I wondered then if he even believed any of what he was telling me.

 

“But what are they?  What are the Cold Ones?” I had to ask, though I feared the answer.

 

“Blood-drinkers.” He told me, grinning at the incredulity of it.  “Your people would call them vampires.”

 

My blood went cold.  I hoped Jacob would take my silence as disbelief rather than shock, because at that moment I had forgotten how to speak.  

 

When I regained my composure I asked my final burning question.  “And the Cullens are descended from these Cold Ones?”

 

“No,” Jacob told me, still getting a kick out of scaring me with his tale.  “They are the _same ones._ ”

 

I was glad I hadn’t eaten any breakfast this morning, because my stomach started heaving as the truth of Jacob’s words hit me.  I knew deep down that what he was saying was completely true, even though he didn’t believe it himself.  All along I’d been thinking of Edie as a sort of anti-hero: dark and potentially dangerous but ultimately someone who would do the right thing and save people’s lives.  She had told me she was a villain, but monster would have been a more apt description.  I had seen enough horror flicks to know how this story played out.  The vampire would lure the unsuspecting victim into complacency, then as soon as they turned their back they would be drained of blood and dead before they even realized what was happening.  The unsuspecting victim being me in this scenario.  I laid down on the rocks and put my cheek against the wet surface, waiting for the nausea to pass.

 

“Bella?” Jacob poked me in the shoulder and I swatted at his hand blindly.  “Oh come on, you know it’s just a bunch of superstitious hooey.”

 

“Hooey?” I asked, chuckling in spite of myself.  “Tell me another hooey story.”  I asked him.  I needed to get my mind off of vampires as soon as possible.  

 

“Okay,” He sounded happy to oblige.  “Did you know there is a legend about the Swan family?”

 

My eyes flew open in surprise.  “No I didn’t.”

 

He grinned, elated to have information about me that I didn’t know.  “Well the Swan clan and the Quileute tribe go way back.  In fact, your ancestors were from a tribe north of here in Canada.”

 

“Really?” I asked, intrigued.

 

“Oh yeah.  Where do you think you got your dark hair and eyes?”  He winked at me again. “But the Swans broke from their tribe and moved down here, and we accepted them as brothers.”  So I was right: Jacob really was my long-lost brother!  “The Swans were special.”  He continued.  “Legend has it that they were supposed to create a bridge between our world and the spirit world, so that the men could speak with their wolf-spirits any time they wanted to.”

 

“So what happened?” I was hanging on his every word, all thoughts of vampires momentarily driven from my mind.  

 

“No one knows.  Some time around when the Cullens were last here, the Swans moved off the reservation and into town.  Though we keep in close contact with them.”

“Does Charlie know about all of this?”

 

“No way!  And you better not say anything, my dad will kill me.  I basically just broke the treaty.”

 

“My word is my bond.”

 

We sat for a while in companionable silence watching the sea.  There was so much information in my brain I felt it would burst.  As we sat, the clouds started rolling in as if to complement my dark mood.  I shivered, and Jacob suggested we should head back.

 

We rejoined the group around the fire pit, ignoring the looks they were giving us.  Someone had thought to bring sandwiches and I bolted one down, suddenly realizing how starving I was.  

 

“We’re packing up,” Mike told me, “looks like it’s about to rain.”

 

“Guess the sun was too good to be true,” I complained, then turned to say goodbye to Jacob.  “You’ll come down to Forks soon?”

 

“Sure, sure.” He clapped me lightly on the shoulder in farewell.  “And next time Charlie comes to visit Billy you’ll come too?”

 

“You know it,” I smiled at him.  Tyler was watching us with obvious disappointment.  I helped them pack up the chairs and remaining food.  We finished loading just as the first fat drops began to fall.  I climbed into the backseat next to Angela, leaned my head back against the seat with eyes closed and tried very hard not to think.

  


**_Edie_ **

 

I was lurking in the darkness of the forest near her house when the girl returned from the beach.  I watched as she climbed out of the backseat of the Suburban and waved good-bye to her friends.  She threw her hood over her head to ward off the downpour and hurried to the front door.  I watched until she disappeared inside.  Emmett was right: I was going crazy.

 

It had only been twenty-four hours since I had sat with her in the parking lot at school, but to me it felt like an eternity had passed.  I don’t know when it happened, but this girl had become the focus of my entire existence.  It was more than just making sure she trusted me enough to not tell my secret.  It was more even than the desire to learn what she was thinking or why I couldn’t hear her thoughts.  I wanted to _know_ her, to figure out not only what she was thinking but why she thought the way she did.  

 

I had thought the past day would have been a welcome break from the constant worry about this human, but I was wrong.  I found that being away from her only made me more anxious.  What was she doing?  What was she saying, and to whom was she saying it?  I wanted more than anything to be the one to crack her defenses and discover the core of her personality.  I cursed her school friends- not for the first time- for choosing to take her to First Beach on La Push reservation: the one place I would not be able to monitor her. Being confined indoors by the wretched sunlight hadn’t helped either.  As soon as the clouds had returned I’d run from the house, sprinting at top speed through the forest until I reached her house.

 

Now that I had seen her arrive safely home, I had nothing left to do but go home myself.  I felt amplified, like my veins were full of electricity rather than blood.  I needed a way to discharge this restless energy. I ran home as fast as I could, but the few short minutes it took me to get there did little to ease my agitation.

 

I arrived to a quiet house.  My family members were engaged in their various pastimes.  I could hear Rosalie banging around under her car engine, and Esme upstairs pouring over her latest blueprints.  Jasper and Emmett were in the middle of a fierce game of chess that had been going on for eight days.  I wasn’t allowed to play, of course.  They claimed I cheated.  Alice sat in front of her multi-screen computer, designing her next fashion project.  Occasionally she would turn around in her chair and mouth Emmett’s next moves to Jasper behind Emmett’s back.  They didn’t let her play, either.

 

I suddenly remembered the girl mentioning yesterday that she loved Beethoven.  For the first time in a shamefully long while I sat down in front of my perfectly restored original Steinway & Sons grand piano.  I easily picked out my personal favorite of Beethoven’s, Moonlight Sonata, from memory.  

 

 _Oh, Edythe is playing again!_ Esme’s mental tone was ecstatic.  I heard her light footsteps reach the top of the stairs, where she sat down and leaned against the bannister to listen.  As the final tones of the Sonata were fading, another melody suddenly entered my mind.  I started playing it as it came to me, adding a harmonizing line and letting the central melody weave through it.   _What a lovely tune._ Esme sighed in contentment.  I let the melody lead in a new direction, following it with a bass line.  The song was compelling, but incomplete.  It seemed to echo my frustration.

 

“Keep playing,” Alice had come to join me on the bench, and she hummed my melody two octaves higher until I began to accompany her.  I added her line to the harmony, modifying it a bit and building up to a crescendo.  The song finally came to a close on a solemn note that resonated long after I’d lifted my fingers off the keys.  

 

“Thanks,” I told her.  Playing had been the perfect release for my pent-up emotions, but I still felt restless.  “Hey Emmett!” I called across the room.

 

“Yeah E?”  He called back without looking up from his game.

 

“Wanna go wrestle some bears?”

 

“Heck yeah!” He bounded out of his chair, almost upsetting their game board in his exuberance.  

 

“Stop!” Alice shouted, and we all froze.  Her eyes were glazed over: she was having one of her visions.  “Visitors coming,” she said, her voice monotone.  “Three vampires, from the north.  They arrive in a thunderstorm.”  We all stared at her, not moving or breathing.  “I’m not sure yet, but it looks like they skirt around town and continue south.”  We let out a collective sigh of relief.  None of us liked having to deal with our own kind.  For some reason, many of them were threatened by our abnormal lifestyle.  We’d had many confrontations over the years.  

 

Alice’s eyes cleared, and she looked right at me.  Through her thoughts, I saw the vision she had just seen.  There were two versions: each outcome was dependent upon a decision that had yet to be made.  In the first version, the trio stayed on the outskirts of town.  They caught our scent at every entrance point into the greater Forks area and decided not to broach our territory.  In the second vision, they caught another scent along with ours and it drew them in.  Then the vision went black.  

 

I stared at Alice, confused.  

  
“I can’t _see_ what happens next.” She explained, her voice tight with worry.  “That can only mean one thing:  They’re going after Bella.”


	8. Daydream

**_Bella_ **

 

When I got home, I told Charlie I had a lot of homework to do and that I had already eaten at the beach.  He mumbled an “okay” without looking up from the TV- there was a very important basketball game on.  I rushed upstairs and locked my door behind me.

 

After spending the day with the sounds of laughter and waves, the sudden silence in my room felt eerie.  I switched on my stereo and turned the volume all the way up.  Then I sat at my desk and took out a notepad and a pencil.  I started writing down everything I had seen, and everything Jacob had told me.

 

On my side I had written five words: speed, strength, cold-skinned, beauty, telepathic?

 

Jacob’s column had four phrases: drink blood, wolf enemy, cold-skinned, immortal.

 

Underneath I wrote the single word Vampire?

 

I must be losing my mind.  Was I actually considering the idea that Edie Cullen is a vampire?  If so, then why was I still alive?  She could have killed me any number of times since we met.  In fact, hadn’t she told me that she saved me from herself that first day?  I pondered this for a while.  Why would a vampire, who feeds on human blood, go out of their way to save a human’s life?  Then I remembered Jacob telling me that the Cullens didn’t hunt humans.  What did they drink then?  I wondered.  And still, even if they don’t drink human blood, why risk exposure to save one human?  I was thinking in circles now.  

 

Then I suddenly remembered one glaring piece of information: vampires can’t go out in the daylight.  I laughed at myself.  What had I been thinking?  That vampires exist, and one of them saved my life and wants to be my friend?  I was laughing hysterically now.  It was a good thing my music was loud, otherwise Charlie would think I’d gone mad.  Maybe I had gone mad; maybe Forks was making me crazy.  

 

Frustrated and embarrassed, I switched off my lamp and crawled into bed, leaving my music blaring to help drown out the thoughts still swirling madly in my brain.

 

* * *

 

The next morning I awoke to sunshine once again streaming in through my window.  I smiled and went to sit by the window, switching off the stereo as I passed it.  A few minutes later I heard a loud knock on the door, and I crossed the room to unlock it.

 

“Thank god!”  Charlie exclaimed.  “I was afraid you were in here doing ritual animal sacrifices or something.”

 

“Oh, sorry about the music Dad,” I told him.  “I couldn’t sleep last night.”

 

“Well that makes two of us,” he retorted.  Apparently he got really grumpy without sleep.  “Anywho, your mom’s on the phone.”  He shoved the phone into my hand and staggered back to his bedroom, shutting the door behind him.

 

“Mom?” I breathed into the phone while sudden fear gripped my heart.  

 

“Bella!  Oh honey it’s so good to hear your voice!”

 

“Mom!  How are you doing?”

 

“I’m fine sweetheart!  This place has been so good for me.  I’ve been able to work through a lot of my stuff here.”

 

“So...you’re not mad at me for leaving like that?”

 

“No, of course not!  I mean at first I was, but my doctor here helped me realize that this is where I need to be, and that you helped me get here.  Bella, I am so sorry that I fell apart like that.  You need a mom, and I promise I will be there for you one hundred percent after this.  You don’t need to worry about me any more.  I still have a lot of work to do, but I’m going to stay in the program when we get home.  They already have a group for me to get in touch with back in Phoenix.  Everything will be different this time.  I can’t wait to see you Bells.”

 

I realized there were tears streaming down my face.  I had missed my mom so much, it was like a part of me had been missing this whole time.  “I can’t wait to see you either, Mom.” I sobbed in relief.  I had expected anger, or at least a guilt trip for abandoning her.  Maybe she really was getting better.

 

“I’ll be home next week!  Charlie said he would help me buy your ticket home.  Better start packing!”  My heart did a funny little lurch at the prospect of going back home to Phoenix.  Wasn’t this what I had been wanting all along?  For my mom to get sober, and for life to go back to normal?

 

“Um…” I stammered, unsure what I wanted to say.  “Shouldn’t I at least finish up the school year?” There was a very long pause on the other end of the line.

 

“What are you talking about, Bella?  Don’t you want to come home?  This is where you belong, here with me and Phil.”  I could hear a note of hysteria creeping into her voice.  How could I begin to explain something I didn’t even understand myself?

 

“It’s just that, well, I just got settled here.  I like my classes, they’re small.  And...I have friends here.”  As I spoke I realized the truth of my words.  Jessica, Mike, Angela and the rest might not know everything about me, but they were the closest thing I’d ever had to friends before.  And now I had Jacob too.  I wasn’t the invisible girl anymore.

 

“Look honey, I have to go my time’s up.  But we’ll talk about this some more later, yes?”

 

“Okay.  I love you mom!”

 

“Love you too Bells.”

 

I sat back on my bed, rehashing our conversation.  I had never expected to _want_ to stay in Forks.  I had always seen it as a sort of self-inflicted purgatory, a temporary exile until my life in Phoenix got back on track.  How in the world had I gotten so comfortable here?

 

A voice in the back of my mind was screaming at me to start packing now, because there was danger here in Forks.  I knew I should listen to it, but couldn’t bring myself to feel afraid.  Maybe it was the sunshine outside, or the camaraderie yesterday, but at this moment I felt content.  Almost happy even.  My mom was getting the help she needed and I...well if I was being completely honest with myself, I was still engrossed with the riddle posed by Edie Cullen.  If I left now, I would never know the truth.  Deep down, I knew that was the real reason I wanted to stay.  I also knew that that made me insane, or at least lacking any self preservation instincts.  

 

I did not necessarily believe that Edie was a vampire, but I did know that she was..something.  Definitely not human.  What I was going to do with this information, I had no idea.  But tomorrow at school she was going to give me some answers.  I was not going to back down.

 

I couldn’t believe my luck when the next day dawned bright and sunny for the third time in a row.  I practically skipped down the stairs to breakfast.  Charlie was already at the table and eyed me warily.  I guessed that my mood swings were getting on his nerves.  

 

“Nice day out,” he commented cautiously.

 

“Yeah!” I grinned at him.

 

“I suppose you’ll be getting your things together this week?  I’ll let the school know that you are transferring out.”

 

“No, Dad, I’m not leaving.” I told him quickly.  “I want to stay here with you.  I mean, if that’s okay?”

 

He answered me with a huge grin, his brown eyes crinkling.  “Really?  I just thought, I mean your mom said she’s doing better now.”

 

“Oh she is, and I’m really glad about that.  Believe me, no one is more surprised about this than I am, but I actually like it here.”

 

“Okay well, as long as you’re sure,” He was giving me one last out, but I could tell he was hoping I wouldn’t take it.

 

“I’m sure.” I answered, and I was.  Now that my decision was made, I felt entirely comfortable with it.  All that was left was to convince my mom, but I decided to worry about that later.

 

When I got to school I took a seat on one of the picnic benches outside and sat there soaking up the sun and daydreaming.  I was rehearsing what I was going to say to Edie when I saw her.  I wasn’t going to let her evade my questions forever.  My concentration was broken by a light tap on my shoulder, and I nearly jumped out of my skin.  I wasn’t ready to confront her yet!

 

But it was only Tyler.  “Hey Bella,” He greeted me.

 

“Oh, hey Tyler. How’s it going?”

 

“Okay. So what’d you do yesterday?’

 

“Just hung around the house, worked on the Macbeth paper.”  

 

“That’s cool.  So are you dating that guy you met at the beach?”

 

I almost spit out the swig of water I’d just taken.  I was not prepared for this today.

 

“Um, no.”

 

“Oh.  You just seemed kinda close at the beach, so I thought that maybe you were seeing him or something.”

 

Here it was, my moment of truth.  Just tell the truth Bella, come on.  I took a deep breath.  “Jacob and I go way back,” Okay, that was kinda true.  I did meet him when we were kids. “But no, we are not seeing each other.”

 

Tyler brightened.  “Really?”

 

I had to tell him, it was now or never.  “Listen Tyler, I really like you a lot, as a friend.” His smile faltered.  “But I’m not looking to date anyone right now.”  Ok that was true, but it definitely wasn’t the whole truth.  I had chickened out.  I guess now that I had actual friends, I wasn’t willing to risk losing them.

 

“Oh. Okay then, that’s cool.”  He walked off looking dejected but not angry.  I exhaled; my hands were shaking a little.  I had come so close to telling him the truth, but I just couldn’t.  I was so shaken up by the confrontation that English class was half over before I even realized that Evie wasn’t in class today.  She didn’t show up for any of our morning classes.  Where was she?

 

I had to force myself to walk at a normal pace to the cafeteria at lunch.  I was filled with nervous energy.  Would the rest of the Cullens be listening to my thoughts?  What did they think of Edie’s involvement in rescuing me from the van? Were they dangerous like Edie?  When I entered, I immediately looked toward their table.  It was completely empty.  For a second I searched all the other tables to see if Edie was waiting for me like she had on Friday.  No sign of her anywhere.

 

Jessica noticed me looking.  “They’re not here.” She said.

 

“What?” Had I been that obvious?

 

“The Cullens aren’t here.  When the weather’s nice their parents pull them out of school for camping and stuff.”

 

I frowned, suddenly angry.  Edie had told me they were going camping, but she didn’t say anything about missing school this week! I was fuming. Then I realized Jessica was still talking to me.

 

“I know you’re not going to the dance, I wish you were, but do you want to come dress shopping with me and Ang tonight?”

 

“I’ll have to check with my dad.  Where are you going?”

 

“Port Angeles.  It’s not too far, and they have way better stores.  We’re taking Angela’s car.”

 

“Sounds like fun,” I smiled, happy to be included.  I could also check out some bookstores while we were up there.  I tried to put Edie out of my mind and focus on normal high school stuff.

 

That afternoon I got home and called Charlie right away to ask about the shopping trip.

 

“So are you going to the dance then?” he asked immediately.

 

“No I’m still not planning on going, but I want to go shopping with my friends anyway.  Is that ok?”

 

“Is all your homework done?”

 

“Yes, Dad.”

 

“And you’ll be home by nine?”

 

“Yes, Dad.”

 

“Then okay.  Do you have money?”

 

“Yeah, I have some.  Thanks Dad!”

 

“Be safe Bells, and have fun.”

 

“Will do!”

 

As soon as we hung up I called Jessica to tell her the good news.  She and Angela came right over to pick me up, and we headed out of town.  I felt my spirits lifting with each mile we put between us and Forks.

  


**_Edie_ **

 

I paced the landing at the top of the stairs, staring out at the accursed sunlight streaming down through the trees.  I could not remember ever feeling so trapped.  I was like wild cat in a cage, stalking back and forth.  This impatience was liable to drive me mad.

 

“Hey E, we’re all heading up to the field tonight for some football!”  Emmett was bounding up the steps.  I growled at him.

 

“Geez, sorry! I’ll just...leave you to your thoughts.”  He backed away slowly.  I couldn’t pinpoint the origin of my fury, but I knew it had everything to do with the girl.  It had been three days now.  Three entire days stuck indoors.  I crushed glass vases between my palms just to give myself something to do with my hands.  Then I made mental notes to replace them before Esme noticed.  

 

Of course by now I was used to being confined indoors when the sun was out.  I seemed to remember passing the time amicably with my family; playing games and music, reading and writing.  But that was before I met Bella.  That was before anyone outside of those living under this roof had held even a fraction of my attention.

 

It seemed an eternity passed while I did nothing but watch the shadows lengthen.  My skin felt too small for the energy contained within my muscles.  I crouched in front of my balcony doors, just out of reach of the last rays of daylight.  The seconds ticked by and still I watched.

 

And then, finally, with movement so slow it would be imperceptible to any but my eyes, the shadows reached me.  I flew from the balcony at top speed, reaching far beyond the open area that surrounded our house before touching ground.  I ran without caring where I was going, just feeling the wind on my face.

 

I had been running for about twenty minutes when I realized I had arrived at the edge of the forest behind the Swan’s house.  Of course.  There was no sound from inside the home.  This was infuriating!  Where was she?  I was finally able to leave my house and now she was gone.  I decided to run over to the police station to see if her father was still there.

 

I hid outside the building and listened for his thoughts.  I skipped from mind to mind looking for him.  Was he gone already?  Or are his thoughts blocked from me as well?  This thought concerned me.  It was bad enough having one person I couldn’t hear.  

 

I gave up and went next to Jessica’s house.  She and Bella were friends, perhaps that’s where Bella was this evening.  No luck.  I tried Angela’s, struck out again.  I was beginning to feel a tightness building up in my chest.  It was something I had never felt before: panic.

 

In the end I resorted to stopping by Mike Newton’s house.  He and Bella seemed friendly at school, and he was dating Jessica.  Finally, someone home!  I listened to him playing video games for a while, and then my search was rewarded.

 

_Wonder what kinda dress Jess is getting tonight.  Bet she’s gonna look hot!  That Bella chick is kinda hot too, I bet they’re helping each other get dressed…_

 

I blocked his thoughts as soon as they turned vulgar, disgusted.  But I had my answer now: Bella was with Jessica looking at dresses.  Easy enough.  

 

But when I stopped by the one department store in town they weren’t there.  Frustration was building as I hit another dead end.  I finally broke down and called my sister.

 

“Why are you going to Port Angeles?” Alice asked without preamble as she answered the phone.

 

“Thanks for the help Al!”  I hung up, already racing home to get my car.

 

I made the hour-long drive to Port Angeles in under thirty minutes, and then began the task of locating one human in a population of twenty thousand.


	9. Road Trip

**_Bella_ **

 

The drive to Port Angeles was about an hour.  We sang along to the radio and speculated about what the dance would be like.  Jess and Angela were surprised that I had never been to a dance in Phoenix.  Then Jess started trying to get me to confess what boys I might be interested in.  I was squirming uncomfortably in my seat until Angela interrupted with a question about dresses to spare me.  I was eternally grateful to her.  

 

We arrived at a picturesque boardwalk by the bay, and I gazed longingly out at the water glistening in the bright sunlight.  But my friends were on a mission.  Angela drove us straight downtown to the mall, and we parked in front of the one large department store.  Once inside, we were confronted with clothes in every size, shape, and color.  The dance was supposed to be semi-formal, but none of us really knew what that meant.  I suggested some of the shorter dresses in fun colors, and they started grabbing some off of the racks to try on.  I wandered through the store while they were in the dressing room, thinking I could use some new shoes.  

 

While I wandered my mind strayed to Edie.  What was she doing today?  I tried to picture her in the woods, with a tent and a campfire.  The image felt impossible to my mind.  I was beginning to suspect that the camping excuse was just that: an excuse.  But why did she and her family need one?  Then Jessica’s words from earlier today came back to me: they were pulled out of school every time the weather was nice.  Or rather, every time the sun was out.  I was floored by this realization.

 

Perhaps I had been too quick to dismiss the vampire theory.  Maybe the Cullens lived here in Forks- in spite of their obvious wealth and Dr Cullen’s surgical expertise- because the Olympic Peninsula offered almost three hundred and sixty five days of cloud cover.  Protection from the sun’s deadly UV light.  My last vestige of doubt fell away, and there was nothing left but certainty.  I was now completely positive of one fact:  Edie Cullen is a vampire.

 

I shivered and hurried back toward the dress section to find Jess and Angela.  I needed human contact right now.  They were showing off their dress choices in front of the mirror.  I complemented them both and then sat and waited for them to change back into their clothes.  This outing reminded me of many similar trips I’d made with my mom back in Phoenix.  One of our favorite things to do was go clothes shopping together.  I was beginning to miss her fiercely and was wondering if I was really making the right decision by staying here in Forks.  Was it really that important to figure why a vampire was running around Forks saving people?  Well, not people.  Just me.  

 

But every time I thought about leaving I felt a strange lump in the pit of my stomach.  Something was telling me to stay put.  

 

We’d planned to eat dinner on the boardwalk, but the dress shopping had taken much less time than we’d expected.  I told them I wanted to go look for a bookstore before dinner.  They both offered to go with me, but they had no idea how preoccupied I could get when surrounded by books; it was something I preferred to do alone.  I asked Angela for directions, and left them to wander the mall looking for accessories.  We would meet back at the restaurant in an hour.

 

The sun was beginning to set as I made the few blocks walk down to the bookstore.  Clouds were gathering on the western horizon, turning the sun’s last rays into pink and orange streaks across the sky.  I feared this would be the last I would see of the sun for a while again, but at the same time I was eager to find out if Edie would return with the clouds.  

 

The bookstore in Port Angeles wasn’t at all comparable to the many I’d visited in Phoenix, but it was still a sight for my sore eyes.  The books were mostly second-hand, and I walked up and down the aisles breathing in the smell of aged paper and leather bindings.  I found my way to the historical fiction section and was enjoying losing myself among the titles when suddenly there was a voice behind me.

 

“Just couldn’t wait until Saturday, could you?”  There was no mistaking that quiet, musical voice.  It was Edie Cullen.

 

I whirled around, surprised and a little unnerved.  What was she doing here?  “Excuse me?” I choked out, my heart beating a little faster.

 

“Book shopping,” she reminded me. “You were supposed to go on Saturday.”

 

“Oh, right.” I stammered, as usual completely lost for words around her.  Stupid unpredictable vampire.  How was I supposed to get used to the idea of her when she kept popping up out of nowhere?  Then I mentally kicked myself.  She could be reading my thoughts right now.  Was it safe to let her know that I had figured out what she is?  I couldn’t be sure.  I stared at her face, trying to figure out if she had heard what I had just been thinking about her.

 

Her eyebrows furrowed.  “Are you okay Bella?”  She asked.  She sounded concerned for my mental health.  I must look like a lunatic, staring at her like that.  I shook my head and turned back to the books so I would have something else to focus on.  I tried to keep my thoughts guarded as well.  Not such an easy task.  

 

“I’m fine.”  I responded, trying to sound nonchalant.  “I just didn’t expect to see you here.”

 

“I’m sorry to infringe on your browsing.  I know how you like to shop alone.”  

 

My mind raced wildly again.  Had she heard me say that to Angela and Jess earlier?  Had she been following me or just reading my mind?  My breath was coming faster.  I needed to calm down.

 

“You declined my offer to drive you to Seattle on Saturday because you like to shop alone.” She stated, as if she had in fact heard what I had just been thinking.  Don’t panic, I told myself.  “But I see you had no qualms about accepting a ride from Angela.”  Was she goading me or just trying to get me to admit that I was a little bit scared of her?  I cleared my throat, hoping that would somehow help me to clear my mind as well.

 

“No, I agreed to help them find dresses for the dance,” I clarified.  “Then I had some time to kill before dinner so I came here.”

 

“Ah, I see.”  She seemed satisfied with my answer.  “Would I be terribly annoying if I accompanied you?”

 

“No,” I allowed.  “I’m just browsing.  This store doesn’t have much, but I still love just being here.”

 

She smiled crookedly and my heart flip-flopped.  Then I noticed that she looked exceptionally well-groomed, as usual.   Today she wore a cream-colored leather jacket over a fitted black T-shirt and designer jeans.  She always managed to look as if she’d just walked out of a magazine.  But that gave me an idea.

 

“So,” I began, a wicked grin spreading across my face.  “How was camping?”  I knew there was no way that she had just gotten back from supposedly camping for three days.  This was my chance to finally catch her in a lie.

 

Sure enough, her smile faded instantly.  “We decided to come home a little early,” she lied smoothly.  

 

I nodded, making sure my facial expression let her know I was on to her.  “Did you have a good time?” I pressed, thoroughly enjoying putting her on the spot for once.

 

“Why yes.  We even got some hunting in before the end.” Her eyes sparkled mischievously as she watched my expression change from gloat to horror and I gulped, swallowing my retort. Okay, one point Edie zero points Bella.

 

“I should be getting back to my friends.” I told her nervously.

 

“Very well.  May I give you a ride, or do you prefer to walk alone as well?”

 

I deliberated.  On one hand, I knew I probably shouldn’t get into a car with a known vampire.  But on the other hand, it was now full dark out and I didn’t know for sure if I could find my way back to the boardwalk on my own.  I finally decided to split the difference.

 

“I prefer to walk, but not alone.  Do you know the way to the boardwalk from here?”

 

She nodded, her lips turned up slightly at the corners.  I was sure she had heard every word of my mental debate.  We left the bookstore and walked in silence for a while.  It took me a few minutes to work up the courage to start asking her questions.

 

“So what brings you to Port Angeles today?” I asked.  

 

She glanced at me sideways, her lips now pursed.  “Next.” She stated simply, obviously aware that I was full of questions for her.

 

“But that was my easiest question!” I protested.  She shook her head.  I looked forward, frustrated.  How could I even begin to ask her what I needed to know?  Oh I’m glad I ran into you today Edie, because I’ve been meaning to ask you if you really are a vampire!  I snorted, and she looked at me again.  This time she looked like she was concentrating very hard on my face.  I suddenly worried that I had something on my face and tried to casually check.  I fidgeted with my hair and put chapstick on my lips, hoping I didn’t have food on my face.  Jess and Ang hadn’t said anything earlier, but now I was feeling self-conscious.  She looked away and I exhaled in relief.  

 

“Did you enjoy your day at the beach on Saturday?” She asked me, turning the inquisition back on me.  The change in topic caught me off guard, and I had to rearrange my thoughts for a moment.

 

“Oh, yes I did.” I finally managed to say.  “The sun was out for most of the day.  We had a driftwood fire and I saw the tide pools.”

 

“Really?” She sounded genuinely intrigued.

 

“Have you never seen them before?” I asked her.

 

“Not at First Beach.” She clarified.  “What are they like?”

 

I began to describe them for her, and she listened with rapt attention.  Then I decided that this might be my best opportunity.

 

“And while I was there I met up with an old friend of mine, Jacob Black.”

 

Her body stiffened when I mentioned his name.  “Black?”  She asked warily.  “On La Push Reservation?”

 

“Yes, he’s a Quileute.”  I watched her reaction to see if the name of the tribe would be familiar to her.  I could tell that it was.  Her eyes tightened and she looked away.

 

I jumped at my chance.  “He told me some of the legends of his tribe.  There was one that was particularly interesting.  It was about the Cold Ones.”  Now I held my breath.  I was treading dangerous water here.  If she decided that I wasn’t supposed to know this information, I had no idea what would happen.

 

“I would like to continue this conversation more privately, if you don’t mind.”  She said through clenched teeth.  I couldn’t tell if she was angry, worried, or deciding how to dispatch me. “Besides, we’re here.”

 

I looked around, a bit bewildered.  I hadn’t paid any attention to where we were walking, and sure enough we had arrived at the boardwalk.  I saw Angela and Jessica a ways down the pier, finishing the hot dogs they had bought from a little stand.  They saw me and made their way towards us.  As they got closer they noticed who I was with, and stared openly.

 

“Hey guys,” I greeted them, hoping I didn’t sound weird.

 

“Hey Bella,” Angela said, “Edie.”

 

“Hello Angela.” Edie responded.  Jessica just continued to stare.  I don’t think I’d ever seen her this speechless.

 

“Sorry we ate without you, we were starving.” Ang apologized.

 

“Oh, it’s no problem.” I told her.  “I’m not that hungry anyways.”

 

“Nonsense,” Edie said.  “I’ll take you to dinner, Bella.” She looked at me to remind me that we needed to continue our conversation, but my mind was suddenly overrun by the image of me _being_ dinner.

 

“But I came with Angela and Jess,” I squeaked.

 

“I can give you a ride home quite easily,” Edie said.

 

“Well, as long as you’re sure Bella?” Angela looked at me to see if I wanted her to help me get out of dinner.  I shook my head, resigned.  I had my questions to ask, what better time than now?  Besides, if I never came back from Port Angeles, Angela and Jess would be sure to tell everyone who I had last been seen with.  I hoped Edie heard _that_ thought.

 

“Of course she’s not sure,” Jessica snapped, finally over her shock.  “Bella came with us, there’s no way we’re leaving her here!”  I was surprised by the venom in her voice.

 

“Jess, I’ll be fine I promise.  I actually am really hungry now that I think about it.”  I hoped she would take the hint.

 

“See, she’ll be fine.  Let’s just go Jess.” Angela came to my rescue once again.  I hugged them both goodbye, promising to see them in class tomorrow.

 

“What was that about?” I wondered aloud after they had driven away.

 

“She’s jealous.” Edie answered  unexpectedly.  “She thinks you like me better than you like her, and that I’m going to be your new best friend.  She’s also worried that being my friend will make you more popular than she is.”  She laughed.

 

“Oh.” I said, turning this all over in my mind.  We started walking toward an Italian restaurant on the corner of the street nearest to us.  “And you know this because?” I prompted, determined to at least get one of my theories confirmed tonight.

 

“Unh uh, not until we’re inside.” She reminded me.  I hoped that meant she would actually answer.  We entered the restaurant, and it was nearly empty being that it was early on a Monday night.  The hostess showed us to a large table in the center of the dining room.

 

“Perhaps something more private?” Edie asked her, and smoothly slid a folded bill into the girl’s hand.  I gaped, impressed.  I had never seen anyone do that except in the movies.

 

“Of course,” the hostess replied, and took us around the corner to an empty section of two-person booths.

 

“Much better, thank you.” Edie smiled at her, and in the candlelight from the tables her face looked almost angelic.  

 

We sat down and the hostess handed us each a menu.  “Your server will be right with you.”

 

I perused my menu a bit, not actually feeling very hungry since I was filled with anticipation.  Edie set her menu down without opening it.  No surprise there.

 

I opened my mouth to re-ask my question about Edie’s telepathic abilities, but she held up a hand to stop me and a second later our server rounded the corner to take our drink orders.  I asked for a coke, and Edie requested the same.  I gave her an inquiring look but she only shrugged.  

 

Finally the server left and I blurted out my next question before she could stop me.  “Can I ask my question now?”  Edie closed her eyes and nodded, as if this were an inevitable nuisance.  I, on the other hand, felt as if I would burst from curiosity.  Noticing her reluctance, I decided I needed to take a more cautious approach.  “Let’s say- hypothetically- that someone could read minds.  How would that work exactly?”

 

“Hypothetically?” She asked, and I nodded emphatically.  “Well, if it was true that someone could read minds, then she wouldn’t need to question anyone else’s intentions.  Especially when that other person has come across information that could be mortally detrimental to the initial person’s entire existence.”

 

I frowned, trying to follow what she was saying.  “So...you can’t read my mind?”  That was the one thing I had been so sure of.  She always seemed to know exactly what I was thinking, what other explanation was there?  Then I realized that it was probably a very good thing that she couldn’t in fact read my mind.  “How did you know what Jessica was thinking just before they left?”

 

She was saved from answering right away when the server returned, setting our cokes down in front of us, to take our order.  I picked the first thing I saw on the menu, a mushroom ravioli.

 

“Nothing for me thank you.”  Edie told her.  Just what I expected.  When the server left Edie looked lost in thought.  I leaned forward across the table, as if by proximity I would be able to read her mind instead of the other way around.  Finally she looked up and her eyes locked with mine.  There were gold flecks in her irises that set off the ochre hues, as if her eyes were lit by an internal flame.  I don’t know how long I stared, mesmerized.  She seemed to be wavering, and I hoped she was making the decision to simply tell me the truth for once.

 

“You can trust me, you know.”  I whispered, and my hand involuntarily reached forward toward hers.  She pulled hers back minutely, and I stopped.  I waited impatiently for her to speak.  

 

“I guess I don’t have any other choice but to trust you.”  She spread her hands apart in a helpless gesture.  “It appears my life is in your hands.”

 

“I guess that makes us even.” I grinned, unable to help it.  We were finally getting somewhere.

 

She leaned toward me and began speaking in a rush.  “You’re much more observant than you have any right to be.”  She told me.  I took that as confirmation that she had in fact heard what Jessica had been thinking.  

 

“So if you could hear her thoughts, why can’t you hear mine?  Is it only certain people you can read?  How does it work?”  My words were getting jumbled up together in my haste to get them out.

 

“I don’t know how it works, it’s just something I can do.  As long as I can remember, I have been able to hear everyone’s thoughts around me as if they were speaking them.  Until you.”   She was staring at me with that same intensity again, a look I now recognized as frustration.  All this time, every time she looked at me, she had been trying to read my mind.  Trying and failing.  

 

The waitress appeared around the partition and we both straightened up as she approached.  She set a plate full of food down in front of me, and as soon as I smelled the delicious aroma of pasta and sauce I attacked it with abandon.  Halfway through I looked up at Evie, suddenly self-conscious again.  It felt rude to eat in front of her.

 

“Aren’t you hungry?”  I asked her without thinking.  

 

She chuckled humorlessly.  “No, I am not hungry.”

 

Hundreds of questions flew into my brain at that moment, but I held them all off, deciding to focus on the one she had been answering so far.  “Why do you think you can’t hear me?” I asked in between bites.

 

“I have no idea.”  She sighed in aggravation.  “It’s unbearably infuriating, not knowing what you’re thinking.”

 

“You know that’s how the rest of us feel all the time, right?”

 

She waved a hand as if that were inconsequential.  “Just imagine if one day you lost one of your senses.  And it was at a time when you would have needed that particular skill more than ever.”

 

I thought this over while I sucked down the last of my coke.  As soon as I finished Edie slid her untouched glass across the table to me.  “Thanks,” I told her.  Something was still nagging me.  “So if you can’t read my mind, how did you know my mom is in rehab and that her husband’s name is Phil?”  Her mouth fell open, her expression so much like a kid who just found out that Santa Claus isn’t real that I almost laughed.  I was glad I held it in, because she suddenly looked defensive and angry.

 

“I can’t believe I was so careless.” She whispered out loud.  “I was so focused on trying to unlock your mind that I unwittingly revealed that I knew more about you than another human would have.  It’s my own fault that you were able to discern so much about me, not because you are gifted in any way.”

 

“Hey!”  It was my turn to get angry.  “You don’t need to insult my intelligence just because you slipped up.”

 

“You’re right, I apologize.  I’m just unaccustomed to playing without a full deck, as it were.  It makes me feel off balance.”

 

“Join the club.”  I retorted, still feeling wounded.  We fumed in silence for a few minutes.  I held out as long as I could before the curiosity took over again.  I was going to be one dead cat at this rate, but I couldn’t manage to curb my interest enough to care.  I decided to risk making her angry again.  She owed me one after that last crack.  “So how did you know? About my mom and Phil?”

 

“I listened to you and your father’s conversations.”  She at least had the decency to look ashamed.  “I had to make sure you weren’t telling him what you had seen me do.”

 

I nodded.  That fit with what I had guessed. But then I wondered, “If you can’t read my mind, how were you able to hear what we were saying?”

 

“I have very good ears.”  She grinned.  I added this tidbit to my mental list of her abilities.  This also fit with what I had observed from her father at the hospital.  Surprisingly, I wasn’t even disturbed by the fact that she had been eavesdropping.  When I thought about it, I probably would have done the same thing had I been in her shoes.

 

“So, why were you in Port Angeles?”  I popped the question unexpectedly, hoping to startle her into more truthful answers.  She glared at me, but I didn’t back down.  

 

“I came to Port Angeles to find you.”  She let her statement hang in the air, watching me carefully to gauge my reaction.  I realized I had frozen, my fork midway to my mouth.  I quickly shoved the bite into my mouth and almost choked.  Edie looked momentarily concerned, and then amused when she realized I was fine.  

 

After my sputtering was over I wiped my mouth on my napkin.  “Why did you want to find me?”

 

“I feel...anxious being away from you.  I’ve never tried to keep track of one specific person before.  It’s much more troublesome than I had anticipated.  As soon as darkness fell I ran to your house, only to discover you were gone.  You can’t imagine the lengths I had to go to to discover your whereabouts.”

 

I had no idea how to respond to this.  Luckily I was spared from answering by the server bringing our check.  Before I could even reach for it Edie had tucked a bill inside and handed it back to her.

 

“Wait, you didn’t even eat anything.  Let me get that.” I protested.

 

“But I coerced you into coming to dinner with me.” It was impossible to argue with her.  I let it go, and we stood to leave.  

 

We stepped out into the cold night air.  I shivered when the wind hit me, and suddenly realized I had left my jacket in Angela’s car.  Before I could say anything Edie had removed her leather jacket and was offering it to me.  It was still hard for me to believe she couldn’t read my mind.  I pulled it on, noticing that it felt as cold as if it had been left out here rather than worn in the restaurant.  Still, the sleeves blocked the wind and I soon started to feel warmer.  We walked along the boardwalk together.  She kept close to me, but always made sure we never touched.  She didn’t seem to notice the cold at all.  

 

“What are we going to do now?” I asked, not ready to end our conversation yet.

 

“Now,” she answered with her mischievous crooked grin, “it’s your turn.”


	10. Query

**_Edie_ **

 

“Can’t I ask just one more?” Bella pleaded with me, ever questioning.  We were walking through the misty darkness along the boardwalk.  The dark waves crashed against the pier, sending sea spray onto the platform.

 

“One,” I allowed with a sigh.  I was eager to hear what she had learned on the reservation, but I was also enjoying this window of communication between us, however brief it would be.

 

“How did you find me earlier, in the bookstore?”

 

I frowned.  Her questions always forced me to reveal secrets about myself, things no human was ever supposed to learn, while at the same time giving me no hint as to the extent of her knowledge.  She noticed my hesitation.

 

“I thought we were past the evasiveness?”  She really was relentless.  Well, if she was so determined to find out the truth I might as well tell her.  And then watch her run away screaming.

 

“Fine, then.  I followed your scent.”  I paused here to let that sink in.  Let her realize that I am an animal, a predator.  “When you weren’t at home, I checked the homes of your friends.  It was Mike who finally gave me the clue I needed.  He was thinking about Jessica buying a dress for the dance.  I went to the store in Forks, but you weren’t there so I had to call Alice…” I bit back my words.  In my haste to explain, I had once again revealed far too much.  Of course, she immediately jumped on my slip-up.

 

“You called Alice?  Why?”  I shook my head, furious with myself.

 

“She knows fashion.” I lied, sure that she would see right through me.  She did.  She crossed her arms and her lips drew together in a tight line.  But she let it pass.  Probably storing the information away for later.  “Anyways,” I continued quickly, hoping to distract her from thinking too much about Alice, “I drove up to Port Angeles and found the department store.  Once again, you weren’t there, so I had to get out of my car and track you.  I should have known exactly where you’d be.”

 

She smiled at me then, in spite of the fact that I had just described my afternoon spent tracking her down.  “I’m still planning to go to Seattle for more bookstores.” She told me.  “The one here is not going to cut it.” I had to agree with her there.  “So you heard Mike thinking about Jessica.”  she continued.  “How does that work exactly?  Can you read anyone’s mind anywhere?  Can Alice and the rest of your family do it too?”  Her questions came in rapid fire.

 

“Hey, you said just one more question!”  I scolded her.  

 

She looked a little sheepish.  “I know, but you never really answered that one in the restaurant.  Please?”  She looked up at me then, her warm brown eyes melting me, and I surprised myself by relenting.

 

“I can read anyone’s mind, save for yours, as long as I am within a reasonable distance.  The more familiar I am with someone’s mind, the farther away I can hear them.  I am the only one in my family, the only the one that I know of anywhere, who can do this.”

 

“Wow,” she sounded awestruck.

 

I waited quietly, expecting more questions.  Instead she was quiet for a long while.  We crossed the street, leaving the boardwalk to make our way downtown to my car.  The streetlights became fewer as we left the main road.  It was no problem for my vampire eyes, but Bella started tripping here and there in the darkness.  Once I automatically reached out to steady her, but caught myself before I touched her.  It would be a very bad idea for me to make physical contact with her right now.  After three days apart, her scent burned in my nostrils with renewed vigor.

 

We turned down an alley to cut through toward downtown.  I should have known better.  I was so focused on the girl and her questions, I had neglected to scan ahead for danger.  We passed by a hole-in-the-wall bar were a group of men were lounging outside, obviously intoxicated.  They saw the two of us draw near and one of them whistled a high sharp note.  His thoughts were jumbled by liquor, but I caught the gist of them.  I had encountered low-lifes like him more times than I could count.  I even used to hunt them, many lifetimes ago.  My reaction was as shocking to me as it was instantaneous.

 

I jumped forward, placing myself between the man and Bella, dropping into a defensive crouch automatically.

 

“Oh, are you going to fight us girlie?” The man taunted me, and it was too much.  I couldn’t hold back any longer.  The veins inside and around my eyes filled with blood, turning my vision red.  My muscles tightened, readying me to spring.  I felt my fangs slide down into place unbidden, and my mouth filled with venom.  Through the haze, I watched as the man’s expression changed from leering into terror.  He stumbled backward, then turned and ran away from me.  That was all the invitation I needed.

 

I sprang forward, my powerful legs propelling me across the distance between myself and my victim in one leap.  The other men had scattered, and I let them escape.  This one was mine.  I knocked him down and pinned him, his face scraping on the asphalt.  The scent from the droplets of blood that rose to the surface of his skin pushed me over the edge.  I opened my mouth wide, baring my fangs, and was about to strike when a shrill voice cut through the night air.

 

“EDIE!!”

 

I turned, momentarily distracted from my hunt.  Then I saw her.  Bella had backed away from the scene and stood against the wall, watching me.  I knew how I must look to her now: monstrous.  But her hand was outstretched as if she could grasp me from that distance and pull me back.  She shook her head back and forth, eyes wide and mouth open.  It worked.  Somehow, her voice had broken through the bloodlust.  I felt it receding now and I pushed it down further, appalled at what had almost happened.  I hadn’t been this close to hunting a human since...since the day I met Bella Swan.

 

I looked back down at the man I had tackled.  He was passed out cold.  I stretched my mind out further, tracing the minds of his companions.  They ran haphazardly, remembering a crazy girl who ran at them with a knife.  I was glad that they had fabricated that part of their memories.  Luckily, none of them had stuck around long enough to view my true weapons.  I would have to keep tabs on this one tomorrow.  Who knew what he would remember when he awoke.  

 

I stood slowly and turned back toward Bella.  I inched toward her step by step, wondering when she would run.  But to my amazement, she stayed put.  I walked until I was a few paces away from her, a safe distance for both of us.  I stood looking at her, waiting.  For what, I didn’t know.

 

“Are you alright?”  She finally spoke.  She was asking _me_ if I was okay?

 

“I am fine now.  Bella, I am so sorry.”  How could I even begin to apologize?  She must be terrified out of her mind now, frozen in fear.  I listened to her heart.  It beat quickly, but was in fact beginning to slow.  Her breathing was also returning to normal.  How could this be?

 

“Will you take me home now please?”  She requested, and now it was my turn to stare at her open-mouthed.  She had just seen what I am, what I do to people, and she wanted to get into a car with me?  She must have a death wish.

 

“Of course,” I told her, knowing that we both needed to get out of here. “but are you sure?”  I didn’t want her to feel like I was her only way home.

 

“Of course.” She echoed me, and closed the distance between us.  She looked into my face, my eyes now back to normal.  “I trust you.”  The words were simple and direct, and completely true.  I was floored.  “I feel safer with you than I ever have, even if you are a vampire.”

 

The word hit me like a slap in the face, and I reeled back from it.

 

She knew the truth.

 

It was then that I realized my cell phone was buzzing in my pocket.  “Alice.” I answered.

 

“Are you alright?!” She was in a panic.  “I’ve been calling you all night!  Why do you have a phone if you never answer it?  I saw you attack someone, Edie!  And then it all went blank.  Is Bella with you? Is she okay?”

 

“I’m fine Alice, everything is okay.  It was...close.  But no one died.  Yes Bella is with me.”  Bella’s eyebrows shot up at the mention of her name.  “I’m on my way home.  Will you let Carlisle know I want to talk to him when I get there?  Thanks, Al.”  I snapped the phone shut and turned back to Bella.  “Shall we?”

 

She nodded, and we left the alley.  “Your sister knew we were in trouble, didn’t she?  And she knew I was with you.”

 

“If I am the ears, Alice is the eyes.” I told her.  I could practically see the questions bubbling up inside her.  “Ah ah,” I told her before she could start, “It’s still my turn to ask the questions.”  She pouted, and I once again marveled at the fact that she was still here talking to me after everything she had just witnessed.  

 

We walked quickly to my car, not speaking.  We were both eager to put Port Angeles behind us.  

 

I clicked the keyless entry as we neared my car, and Bella started in surprise when it beeped, lights flashing.  She hadn’t realized I’d brought my real car today.  I opened the passenger door of my jet black, fully loaded and suped-up, brand new Corvette.  I couldn’t help but grin at her expression.

 

“This is...different.” She said as she gingerly lowered herself into the seat.  I closed her door and practically flew around to my side of the car.  I must be riding an adrenaline high after my close call.  I couldn’t remember ever feeling so weightless.

 

We sat in a charged silence while I wound my way through the side streets to get to the main highway.  

 

“How are you feeling, Bella?” I finally dared to ask her, fearing the answer.

 

“I’m fine, really.” She answered.  “Honestly, I’m really good at blocking out unpleasant things.”  She must be, I decided.  How else would she be able to sit in a vehicle with me, knowing what I am?  Then I wondered how often she had encountered unpleasant things in her life, things she’d had to block out.  So many questions.  I needed to focus on the topic at hand.

 

“How long have you known what I am?” I started with a simple one.

 

“For sure?  Only today.  I thought Jacob was embellishing when he told me about the Cold Ones on Saturday.  I thought I had gone insane for even considering it.  But then none of you showed up for school today, the first real sunny day we’ve had since I moved here.  Jessica happened to mention that you and your family are always absent when the weather is nice.”

 

I should have known that our pattern would eventually be recognized.  Even so, Bella was the first human in my two hundred years to ever put it all together.  For a moment I was self-righteously furious.  How dare that child break our treaty?  If Jacob Black had never said anything, Bella might have stayed in the dark.  If I wanted to, I could storm their village and slaughter the lot of them.  Their precious treaty was null and void now that Jacob had spilled our secret.

 

Bella waited patiently while I seethed, her hands twisting around each other nervously.  “He didn’t really believe what he was saying,” she tried to convince me, though she wasn’t exactly sure of that herself.  “He was just trying to be interesting.”  

 

“Don’t worry, I won’t do anything to harm your friend.” I told her.  “But if I ever happen across his father we will have words, you can be sure of that.”

 

“There was something else that Jacob said, that I am curious about.”

 

I laughed.  When was she ever _not_ curious?  “Oh? And what was that?”

 

“Well, he said that the reason his ancestor devised the treaty with your family was because you were different than the other Cold Ones.  You didn’t hunt humans.”

 

“The Quileutes have a long memory.” I was impressed.  I should have put more stock in the oral history of the tribe.  If we had known, we probably would not have chosen to settle here so soon after our last visit, if at all.  But then, a thought suddenly occurred to me.  If we hadn’t come back, I never would have met Bella Swan.

 

“So what do you...eat?”  She had taken my answer as a confirmation of what Jacob had told her, and my silence as an opportunity to ask yet another question.

 

“We survive off of the blood of animals.  But it’s only that: survival.  It’s enough to keep us strong, but it never fully satiates the thirst.”

 

“Sort of like vegetarians?”  She asked, and I laughed loudly.  

 

“Yes, exactly like that.  We try, but sometimes we make mistakes.”

 

“Like what happened in the alley.”

 

“Yes.” My voice turned grim.  “And like me allowing myself to be alone with you.”

 

“This is a mistake?”  Did I imagine the tone of disappointment in her voice?

 

“Yes,” I told her, “a very dangerous one.”

 

“Then why risk it?”  She got right to the heart of things.

 

“Why indeed?” I wondered, not for the first time.  It had begun as an assignment, to make certain our identities wouldn’t be revealed after I risked saving her life.  But now it was something much more.  Something I didn’t even begin to understand.  But I knew in this moment, more than wanting her to trust me, I wanted her to _know_ me.  

 

When it became apparent that that was my only answer, she moved on to her next one.  I was definitely losing at our game of twenty questions.

 

“Wouldn’t it be easier to not fight it? To just, let yourself be who you are?”

 

She clearly had no concept of what it meant for me to be who I am.  It took every ounce of my considerable strength every single day to fight my most basic instinct: to hunt and kill.  “Oh, it would be much much easier.  At first.  But as time goes on, it becomes more and more difficult to live with who I am.  I don’t _want_ to be a monster.”

 

She accepted this answer and then went on to her next question.  “Were you hunting this weekend with your family?”

 

“Yes.”  I marveled again at the casual way she was able to talk about my feeding habits.  Could she really have just accepted this all in stride?

 

The answer was yes, she could.  Her barrage of questions continued without pause.

 

“Do you have to sleep in a coffin?”

 

I laughed.  “Not necessary.  A bed indoors is quite sufficient.  Although, in the past there were times…”  I trailed off, not sure how much I should reveal.  

 

“How old are you?”  She jumped on the mention of my past, as I knew she would.

 

“Seventeen.”  My answer was immediate and reflexive.

 

“How long have you been seventeen?”

 

“A while.”

 

She crossed her arms and sat back against her seat, obviously frustrated by my unwillingness to elaborate.  Then something else must have occurred to her because she sat up again, her body angled toward me in the small interior of the car.

 

“How is it that you can go outside during the day?  Doesn’t the sun burn you?”

 

“Yes it does, very painfully.”  I shuddered at the memory of the burns I had sustained.  “But Esme, my mother for all intents and purposes, is a brilliant chemist.  She devised a way for us to tolerate minimal sunlight.  Hence our move to the Pacific Northwest.  I’ll never forget the first time I walked outside during the daylight.  The light hurt my eyes, but it was glorious.  I could see everything that I had seen each night, but it was all imbued with color, more color than I think I’d ever seen in my lifetime.  Over the years, the darkness had become so monotonous.  We live a quiet life here, but I would never trade it for all the world.”  I was putting my full trust in her now.  This was my family’s most closely guarded secret:  if anyone in our world found out we would be hunted mercilessly.  But Carlisle, being who he is, refuses to share it with vampires who hunt humans.  He said it would give them even more advantages over their prey.

 

Bella seemed lost in thought when I pulled into the driveway of her house.  It took her a moment to realize where we were, and then she sat up quickly and stared around her wildly.  “How did we get here so fast?”

 

“I always drive fast,” I answered, unsure what had upset her.  She sighed, staring out the window.  She seemed as reluctant to leave as I was to let her go.  

 

“Will I see you tomorrow?” She asked me.

 

“Yes, the forecast looks cloudy.”  I grinned at her, and it felt good to do this.  “I’ll save you a seat a lunch.”  Her heart stuttered when I said this, and I wondered at that.  She fumbled for the door handle and then heaved herself awkwardly out of the low riding car.  Was she more frightened than she was letting on?  She removed my jacket and handed it back to me.  It was filled with her scent, sweet and heady.  I set it gingerly on the passenger seat as far away from me as possible.  As if that would help.

 

“Tomorrow then,” She told me, and walked stiffly up to her front door and let herself in.  I worried that she may be going into shock, a delayed reaction to the events of the evening.  But there was nothing I could do for her if she was.  I just had to hope that she would be okay.

 

I drove aimlessly for a while, unwilling to head home just yet.  More like unwilling to face reality.  The reality being that a human now knows what I am, what my family is.  There are not many rules among vampire kind; we prefer to live by our own authority.  But the number one rule that we all must follow- or face certain death- was to not ever leave a trace of our existence.  I had broken this cardinal rule.  Not purposefully, but it was broken nonetheless.

 

But before I went home to face the consequences, I wanted to revel in this feeling.  Bella knows what I am, and she did not run away from me.  For some inexplicable reason, she seems as curious about me as I am about her.  I had never before felt accepted by anyone outside of my family, and the feeling was exquisite.  I let the happiness wash through me and I savored it.

 

I felt the time slipping by me and knew I should get this over with.  I drove slowly back to my home, took extra care parking my car in its garage, and tried to noiselessly open the door into the house.  Too bad it’s impossible to sneak into a house filled with vampires.  

 

Alice was on the other side of the door.  She threw her arms around me immediately.

 

“Oh Edie, I’m so glad you’re okay!” she gushed.

 

“I’m fine Alice, for now.”  I looked at her.  “How bad is it going to be?”

 

She drew away from me and tried to censor her thoughts.  “You know Carlisle.”

 

I nodded.  It was now or never.  Delaying the inevitable would only make it worse.  I cast my thoughts outward, searching for Carlisle’s mind.  He was in his study, of course, and reading.  He did this in anticipation of my arrival, as a way to block his thoughts from me.  It was going to be bad.

 

I trudged up the stairs.  His door was open.  “Carlisle.” I greeted him.

 

“Edythe, please come in.” He gestured to the chair opposite him.  I sat on the edge of the seat and looked at him, waiting.  “Would you like to tell me what happened this evening?” He asked, his voice calm and quiet.

 

“I just wanted to keep an eye on the girl, to make sure she hadn’t said anything to anyone over the weekend.  I had heard she had spent some time up at First Beach, on the Quileute reservation.  I didn’t really think there was any danger of her finding out about us.” The words spilled from my lips, fast and passionate.  “But Carlisle...she knows.”  I let the words sink in.  He hadn’t expected this turn of events.  We had all become dependent on Alice to let us know when something was about to happen that would affect our family, but Bella was out of her sight.  I couldn’t remember the last time I had seen my father so shocked, if ever.  

 

“How is this possible?”

 

“She spoke to one of the younger Quileutes.”

 

“I don’t believe it!  The Quileutes were the ones who insisted on the treaty, why would they be the ones to break it?”

 

“I don’t think the younger generation understands the full implications,” I told him gently.  “They don’t realize that the legends are true.  The boy spoke from ignorance, not malice.”

 

“You’re sure about this?”

 

“Completely.  We should consider the treaty fully intact.”

 

He nodded once.  I waited.

 

Finally, unable to contain myself, I asked him, “Carlisle, what are we going to do?”  I held my breath, awaiting his answer.  What would I do if he decided we needed to kill her?

 

“I say we wait it out.  She is an innocent.  She hasn’t said anything to anyone.  I think the problem is contained, so far.  But if she slips up, if she tells even one person...” He didn’t need to finish.  I knew exactly what would happen.

 

“I understand.  Thank you, father.  She won’t make that mistake, I can guarantee it.”

 

His eyes narrowed at me.  “Do not make guarantees that you are not capable of ensuring.”

 

“Yes, of course.”  How could I make him understand?  After tonight, I had no doubts whatsoever about Bella keeping our secret.  

 

“Now, about what happened in Port Angeles.”

 

I froze.  The interrogation wasn’t over yet.

 

“You attacked a human.”  I did not bother to contradict him.  “You did this in front of other humans.”  Again, I remained silent.  “This is by far more troubling than one human teenager finding out about us.”  My eyes widened in surprise and his voice softened in response.  “What is going on with you?”  I looked into his face, the face I knew better than any on the planet including my own, and saw nothing but compassion and concern.

 

“What do you mean?” I was confused.  

 

“I have never seen you so...impassioned.  I cannot tell you how long your mother and I have worried about you.  You have become increasingly despondent, more removed from humanity with each passing decade.  Until now.  Now I see that you are preoccupied, even captivated.  I must say it has been a welcome change.  But if this Bella is somehow influencing you to start attacking people, well I’m afraid I will have to put a stop to it.”

 

I stared at him, flummoxed.  How could he possibly think that Bella was the reason why I lost control tonight?

 

“It wasn’t her fault!” I cried.  It was the first time I had ever raised my voice to my father.  “I think I was trying to protect her.  These men were drunk, and when I heard what he was thinking about her I jumped in between them.  And then he taunted me!”

 

He raised his eyebrows.  A simple gesture, but enough to calm me a little.

 

“You’re right.  No matter what affront this human gave me, I had no right to use my strength to overpower him.  I was wrong, and I’m sorry.”  This admission hurt.  “But father, he is still out there.  He might have seen my face, I can’t be sure.  But more than that, I saw his mind.  I heard what he intended for Bella, and I can’t let someone else take Bella’s place as his victim, it’s not right!”  I was still incensed.

 

His wide, unexpected smile stopped the rush of my words cold.   _I was wrong,_ he thought, _this human is not a bad influence.  Quite the opposite, it seems.  Protective, compassionate.  Perhaps this girl will serve a higher purpose…_

 

I could not fathom what he meant by that, and the thought was gone as soon as he realized he had let his mind wander.  “I’ll take care of it.” He told me assuredly.  “Tell me where to find him.”

 

I quickly sketched directions to the bar where we’d had the encounter.  The man might still be there in the alley, unconscious.  If not, Carlisle would be able to track him by the blood he left on the asphalt.  

 

Carlisle and I rushed down the stairs.  I found Alice and asked her to scan ahead for us.  She saw that Carlisle would have no trouble.  I breathed a sigh of relief.  

 

“Edie, what happened tonight after the attack?” she asked me.

 

“The _almost_ attack.” I clarified.  

 

“Of course, almost.”  She rolled her eyes.  “If you had bothered to answer my call the first time, it would not have been a close call at all.”

 

“You’re right, I’m sorry.  I didn’t mean to make you worry.  I was...distracted.”  I was really apologizing a lot this evening.  

 

“You’re forgiven,” she intoned in her wind-chime voice.  “Can I talk to Bella now?”  She had been pestering me with this question since the day of the car accident.  “You can’t keep her all to yourself forever, you know.”

 

I bristled, suddenly feeling proprietary.  “Watch me,” I growled, and stalked off to bed.


	11. Unexpected

**_Bella_ **

 

I awoke in darkness, even though it was already morning.  I ran to the window and saw that the sky was full of dark clouds, and the ground covered in thick mist.  I grinned. For the first time ever, I felt elated at the disappearance of the sun.  I knew I would see Edie again today.

 

Everything had changed overnight.  When I saw Edie jump to place herself in between me and danger, I knew in that moment that I could trust her.  When I saw her face change as she leapt impossibly fast onto our attacker, I knew without a doubt that she truly is a vampire.  A second later, I realized it doesn’t matter.  She has proven three times now that her first instinct is always to protect me.  Whether or not she realizes this, she is a good person through and through.  

 

Our time together last night had felt like an eternity, and yet at the same time it was over in an instant.  I wanted to know everything about her life as a vampire, her family, her past.  I couldn’t wait to get to school and see her.  It turned out I didn’t even have to wait that long.

 

I stumbled out of the house with a half-unwrapped granola bar in between my teeth as I twisted my wet hair into a messy bun on top of my head.  I rounded the corner of the house, squinting through the dense fog.  Walking to school was not going to be fun.

 

But when I reached the end of the driveway I stopped in my tracks.  There, parked in front of my house, was a shiny silver Volvo.  The driver stood leaning against the hood watching me, a small smile playing on her lips as she took in my haggard appearance.  She looked flawless, as always.  Her auburn hair fell loosely around her shoulders.  Little beads of mist clung to the strands, making her curls glisten in the faint light that made its way through the cloud cover.  She wore a deep purple V-neck sweater that looked barely thick enough for even the warmest day in Forks, let alone a stormy day like this one.  Do vampires even get cold?  I added it to my list of questions.

 

“Would you like to ride to school with me today?”  Her soft voice was like music.

 

“S-sure.” I stammered.  She opened the passenger door for me and was in her seat putting the car into gear before I’d even finished buckling my seat belt.  Once in the car, all the questions I’d been dying to ask her vanished from my mind.  I found myself just staring at her, at the impossibility of this creature sitting next to me driving a car like everything was normal.  I couldn’t help but wonder if our time yesterday- with all of the walls between us gone for once- was a one-time deal.  Would she be as open again today?

 

I was starting to feel awkward and tongue-tied as we sped through the fog-shrouded streets.  Finally I found my voice again and blurted out the first question that popped into my head.

“Where’s your family?”

 

“They are finding their own transportation this morning,” she answered cryptically.

 

“Do they know, you know, that I know?  About them?”  I sounded idiotic even to myself.

 

“It’s impossible to keep secrets in my house.” She smirked.

 

I was starting to worry now.  It was one thing to converse with Edie.  I knew she had good intentions.  But the others were foreign to me.  How would they feel about their identities being discovered?

 

She seemed to sense my unease.  “They don’t understand my fascination with you.” She told me, and her words sent a little thrill through me.  Fear, or excitement?  I couldn’t tell.  Surely it couldn’t be a good thing to have a vampire be fascinated with me, right?  “But they are giving us space, for now.”  I took that to mean that our time together was contingent on something.  But what?  Obviously I wasn’t going to betray their trust or I would have done it already.  Maybe they had reason to be paranoid.  I could understand that.

 

Getting out of Edie’s car in the school parking lot felt a lot like the day after the accident: everyone stared.  I kept my head down, wishing I had left my hair down to cover the red splotches that appeared all over my face and neck. We walked to English together and took our separate seats.

 

I sat down in my usual seat next to Jessica and turned toward her.  She sat facing the front of the classroom, glowering.

 

“Hey Jess,” I greeted her, wondering what was wrong.  She ignored me but heaved a heavy sigh, so I knew she had heard me.  “Um, did you bring my jacket?  I think I left it in your car yesterday.”  She pulled my jacket out of her bag and handed it to me, still not looking at me, then crossed her arms and stared fixedly at the blackboard.  Behind her on the other side of the room I could see Edie laughing.  What was going on?

 

The rest of my classes went pretty much the same.  Luckily, Angela seemed to be perfectly normal today so I talked to her in between classes.  

 

“Hey Ang, what’s up with Jess today?  Is she mad at me?”

 

Angela looked embarrassed.  “She thinks you ditched us on purpose yesterday.  I told her there was no way, but she wouldn’t listen to me.” She shrugged.

 

I felt bad that Jessica was upset, but I couldn’t bring myself to feel guilty.  Yesterday had been a breakthrough with Edie, there was no way I would have passed that up.  But was I willing to give up my newfound friends for this- friendship?- with Edie?  The word friendship didn’t feel quite right for what we were.  It felt too familiar, and at the same time not meaningful enough.  Confidante maybe?  I shook my head.  That wasn’t right either.  Maybe I was her confidante, at least I _hoped_ I was.  Protector?  That was close, but I didn’t think there was a word in the English language to describe what Edie was to me.

 

As it turned out the answer was yes, I was willing to set aside my group of friends in favor of Edie’s company.  As Angela and I walked into the cafeteria for lunch, my heart soared when I saw Edie sitting alone at the same table where we had conversed on Friday.  That conversation felt like it was eons ago.

 

Edie looked amused as I sat down across from her at ‘our’ table.  She had a tray piled high with food that she pushed over to me.

 

“What’s so funny?”  I asked her.

 

“Your friend is devising ways to humiliate me.  She seems to think I have stolen you from her,” she had a playful smile on her lips.

 

“She’ll survive,” I couldn’t worry about Jessica right now.

 

“I may not give you back though.”  Edie said.  A strange shiver that had nothing to do with fear flowed through me as I looked at her.

 

I shook my head, trying to dispel the feeling.  I picked up a piece of pizza off the tray in front of me and took a bite.  Then something occurred to me.

 

“I’m curious,” I said.

 

“Aren’t you always?” Edie quipped, and I had a sudden urge to stick my tongue out at her.  I resisted.

 

“What would you do if someone dared you to eat food?”

 

She reached over and took the pizza out of my hand, lifted it to her lips and took a huge bite.  Her eyes never left mine as she chewed slowly, as if daring me to give her a real challenge.  I decided to take advantage of her momentary silence.  The problem was, none of my questions could be voiced aloud in a crowded cafeteria.  I exhaled, frustrated, then finally chose a question that would sound innocuous to outside listeners.

 

“So where do you go hunting?”  Surely it was normal for people around here to hunt.

 

She finished chewing and swallowed so that she could answer.  “Up to Goat Rocks Wilderness.”

 

“Really?” I asked, surprised.  “Charlie says they’ve been having problems with bears up there.”

 

“Precisely.”  She sat and waited for me to catch on.

 

“Bears?!”  I thought I was surprised before.  

 

“Oh yes, grizzlies are Emmett’s favorite.  There’s nothing more challenging than going head-to-head with an irritated grizzly.”

 

Now it was my turn to swallow, though I hadn’t eaten anything yet.  I looked over at Emmett, with his broad shoulders, thick neck, and arms corded with muscle.  I decided he might in fact be able to take on a grizzly.  I shuddered at the mental image.  I hoped I never got on his bad side.  

 

“What’s your favorite?” I asked next.

 

“Mountain lion.”  

 

I stared.  Emmett fighting a predator was one thing, but Edie looked so...small.  She was taller than me but delicate in stature.  Her willowy grace belonged on a runway, not in a fighting pit.  I could not wrap my mind around the idea of her attacking anything, let alone a fierce cat.  But then I remembered the way she went after that man in the alley, and it suddenly made more sense.

 

“We try to focus on areas with an overpopulation of predators, and prevent them from moving into inhabited areas.” she continued.  “It’s our way of paying our dues I guess.  Of course there are always plenty of deer and elk in the mountains here, but where’s the fun in that?”

 

“Where indeed.” I echoed.  I longed to ask her for more details, about how they hunt and how often, but it just didn’t seem safe to talk about here.  She must have seen the unanswered questions in my eyes.

 

“What do you really want to know?” She asked in a low voice.

 

“Everything.” I whispered.  She stared back at me, and I could not fathom the expression on her face.

 

“Later.”  She said, looking around at the now empty lunch room.  “We’re going to be late.”

 

I stood up, disoriented.  I couldn’t believe our hour was already over.  Time seemed to pass by in an instant whenever I was with Edie.  “Later then,” I agreed, and I hoped my tone conveyed that I would hold her to that.

  
  


**_Edie_ **

 

Bella and I walked silently to biology.  There was so much to discuss between the two of us, but not surrounded by all of the other schoolchildren, so instead we said nothing.  I knew from observation that Bella was not one for small talk, and I was glad.  It gave me time to anticipate what questions she might be coming up with, and how I would respond to them.  I was convinced that there would be a point where it would all be too much for her, and she would be afraid of me again.  I would try to prevent that from happening if at all possible.

 

We took our seats, and Mr. Banner entered dragging an ancient TV and VCR.  The improved mood in the room was palpable.  We settled into our chairs for an hour of blissful escape from having to pay attention to a lecture.  I was thinking about trying to talk to Bella during the film, if we could get away with it.

 

Then Mr. Banner turned the lights out.

 

I did not understand the sudden electricity that coursed through my body as I sat next to Bella in the dark classroom.  Of course, I could see perfectly well with the lights off.  Better, even, without the fluorescence reflecting off of every surface.  So why did everything feel different suddenly?

 

My skin felt charged, like it was alight with energy.  My muscles tensed, and my nerves felt like they were trying to jolt my heart back to beating.  I crossed my arms over my chest as if that would help to calm the dynamism raging inside of me.  

 

When the video started, there was enough light for Bella’s human eyes to see by.  She turned to look at me, her arms crossed over her chest much like mine were.  She looked at our identical postures and had to stifle a giggle.  I grinned back at her.  

 

I looked into her deep brown eyes that seemed full of warm invitations and felt something stir inside me, unfamiliar and alarming.  As I stared, I watched as heat blossomed across her cheeks.  I heard her breath catch and her heart start hammering inside her ribcage.  I imagined mine would have been doing the same, had it still been beating.  

 

 _What are you thinking?_ Now more than ever I was dying to read her thoughts.  Did she feel this bizarre and tangible energy as I did?  The electricity was practically humming between her body and mine.  It had been so long since I had felt anything _new_ , I wished I could sit here for days and experience this feeling fully.  The hour ended too soon.

 

Mr. Banner flipped the lights back on and the room filled with chatter.  I stood slowly, and the electricity receded.  I felt drained.  

 

“Well that was interesting.”  I looked at Bella, trying to discern if she had sensed any measure of the tension I had just experienced.

 

“Hmmm,”  was her only response.   _What did that mean?_

 

I walked her to the door of the gym before departing for Spanish class.  This time our silence was charged with unspoken intensity.  I paused before saying goodbye, my hand raised halfway toward her as if I would reach out and touch her.  I regained control of myself before I did anything rash.  Touching her would not help my self-control right now.  The hunger for her blood was always right under the surface, ready to break through at any moment of weakness.  I couldn’t take that chance.

 

“See you after class?”  She asked me hesitantly.

 

“Yes, see you then.” I answered, then turned and strode away before I could do something I would regret.  

 

I met up with Alice and Emmett for Spanish.

 

“I can _see_ it’s going to be sunny again on Saturday,” she told me darkly, “with a thunderstorm Sunday night.”

 

I recalled her vision about the visitors coming during a thunderstorm and my blood went cold.  Bella would be at risk.  

 

Alice and I spent the last hour of class conversing silently about what to do.   _The best thing to do would be to keep her with us all weekend.  They wouldn’t dare go after her against the seven of us._ Alice was thinking.   _But then I won’t be able to scan ahead for us at all.  I feel so helpless._  Her mental tone was full of anguish.  I started to write my answer- I’m sure I can convince her to stay with us- _Yes, well good job because all of our futures just disappeared_ she answered before I’d even finished.  Her vision had changed the instant I made the decision to invite Bella over to our home.

 

I sat back in my chair, feeling better knowing that Bella would be with me when danger was near.  It seemed there was no end to the need for protecting this girl.  Danger was waiting for her around every corner.  I smiled at that thought, then shook my head.  I should not take delight in her peril.  But I knew why I was happy- it meant that I had a concrete reason to spend time with her.

 

I ducked out of class a few seconds early and raced to the gym.  I caught the tail end of her volleyball practice- she had managed to knock both herself and Mike Newton over the head in one fell swoop.  I was still laughing when she exited.

 

She saw me smiling and answered with a wide grin.  The happiness I felt when she smiled at me was unprecedented.  My laughter faltered as I grappled with these new emotions once again, but I quickly recovered.

 

“How was gym?” I teased her, and her smile fell.  It was easier to converse with her when she wasn’t grinning at me like I’d just made her day simply by being where I said I’d be after school.

 

“Fine,” she lied.

 

“Really?”  I couldn’t help myself.  “How’s your head?”

 

She looked mortified now.  “You weren’t…. _listening_?!”  My grin widened in response.  “You’re unbelievable!”  She cried, and stomped off in the general direction of my car.  I followed at a slow pace, waiting for her anger to subside.  She was clearly embarrassed- her skin had turned a dark red color.  I kept my distance, knowing all too well how the blood rushing to her face would affect my darker side.  She leaned against the passenger door of my car, arms crossed in a pout.

 

I stood at the driver’s side door of my car, determined to wait her out.  I didn’t have to wait long.  After a few minutes she turned back around to face me, her skin returned to it’s lovely cream color.

 

“Is it later yet?”  She asked curtly, and I knew she was referring to my promise to answer any question for her once we were away from school.

 

“Yes, I suppose it is.”  I unlocked the car and we both got in.

 

“What is it like for you, when you hunt?”  She was still thinking about the bears.

 

“Just imagine two grizzlies fighting, and that’s Emmett hunting.” I told her.  I worried about letting her know too much about us, about how monstrous we can be.  But I also wanted her to know the truth.  

 

“And for you?”

 

“I’ve been told I’m more like the lion, swift and silent.  Perhaps our preferences are indicative.”

 

She nodded, then moved on to her next question.  “But what is it like for you?  What do you experience?”

 

I thought about my answer carefully.  This was really getting into dark territory.  “It’s sort of like this other side of me takes over.”  How to explain?  “My senses sharpen and this focus takes hold of me.  I can’t see or hear or smell anything other than my prey.  There is this feeling of power, like I could take on anything and walk away victorious.  It’s the greatest feeling in the world,” I turned to look at her, to gauge her reaction, “and the worst.”

 

“Why the worst?”  Of course she would ask me this.

 

“Because when that moment of power is over, I have taken a life.  Even if only the life of an animal, I can feel it when it slips away.  I know the exact moment that death takes them, and I am the cause.”

 

We had reached her father’s house, and the tone in the car was somber.  

 

“Can I ask you something now Bella?”  I looked at her, my silent heart suddenly tight with fear of her answer.

 

“Of course,” she said.

 

“Are you determined to go to Seattle this Saturday, or was that just an excuse to avoid the dance?”

 

And there it was, her heartbeat slamming in her chest again.  Would I ever discover the cause of her panic?  “Mostly an excuse,” she admitted, “but I am open to alternatives.”

 

“The sun will be out, so I will have to stay indoors.  And you could stay with me...if you wish.”  If I had breath, I would be holding it right now awaiting her answer.

 

“Will you promise to answer more questions?”

 

“Are you sure you want to know more?”  I was still waiting for her to realize that I was a monster straight out of a horror film.

 

“Absolutely!”  Her answer was immediate and emphatic, and the elation I’d felt last night when she’d accepted the truth swept through me again.

 

“Then yes, I promise.”  And I meant it.  Whatever she wanted to know, I would tell her.  “And Bella?”

 

“Yes, Edie?”  I felt that electricity again when she said my name out loud.

 

“Tomorrow it’s my turn.”  I grinned at her.  She looked slightly worried, and I wondered yet again what secret she held that she protected so fiercely.  She got out of the car and I waited until she was out of sight before driving home.

  
  


The next day I picked her up for school again.  I was beginning to enjoy our new routine, and the time alone, however short, was invaluable to me.  I had not realized how much of my personality I kept contained.  Aside from my family, no one in the world really knew me.  Until I met Bella.

 

“Good morning,” she said pleasantly as she got into the car.  “How are you today?”  

 

“Not a chance,” I chuckled at her obvious attempt to get one question in before I did.  “It’s my day.”

 

She frowned.  “What do you want to know?”  Another question, but I let that one slide.  I was too amped-up to wait even one more minute to begin questioning her.  This time I had a plan.

 

“What is your favorite color?”  I watched her face, anticipating her surprise at such a banal question.  What she didn’t know was that nothing about her could be banal to me.  

 

“Purple,” she told me, and I started making a mental file of all of her answers.  “But not lavender or plum.  More like violet.”  

 

I filed her answer without comment and moved quickly on to the next question.  “What CD is in your stereo right now?”  She told me the name of the band, and I had to laugh.  It was the same one I had listened to last week when I couldn’t sleep.  I pulled it out of my CD holder and showed it to her.  She laughed along with me.  It seemed we had more in common than I would have thought.

 

I continued my rapid-fire questions the entire drive to school, the walk into the building, and in between every class.  My plan of attack was to overwhelm her, to ask her questions that were easy to answer and ask them quickly so she wouldn’t have time to second-guess her answers.  This way, I might gain some insight into what her secret might be.  

 

During lunch, she barely had time to eat in between answering me.  I wasn’t even halfway through my list of questions when we arrived at her house after school, and still not a single answer had given me any clue about what she was most afraid of.  I was about to ask her if I could spend the afternoon with her, but my question froze on my lips when I noticed a new vehicle in her driveway.

 

“What’s wrong?” She asked, immediately noting my sudden silence.

 

“A complication.”  I answered through gritted teeth.  I could smell the occupants of the vehicle from here: Billy Black, descendant of Ephriam Black, the creator of our treaty.  The young boy, presumably Jacob, had jumped out of the truck and was helping Billy out of the passenger seat and into his wheelchair.  

 

I had told Bella that if I ever ran into Billy Black I would have words with him.  But now I couldn’t bring myself to be angry that Jacob had unwittingly broken the treaty.  If he hadn’t, Bella might not be sitting here with me right now, sportingly answering my questions and hoping to ask me hers this weekend.  

 

My eyes met Billy’s, and I watched recognition register in his mind as he took in my appearance.  If I’d had any doubt that the tribe still believed the old legend about the Cold Ones, it was gone now.  I watched as Billy’s eyes narrowed when he noticed Bella beside me.  It seemed that Billy wanted to have words with me, rather than the other way around.  I tensed, sensing a challenge.  But then he looked from Jacob to Bella and thought better of it.  

 

When he looked back at me, he nodded once very slowly.  I knew without even having to read his mind what that meant:  he would be watching me.


	12. Interruption

**_Bella_ **

 

“Jacob!” I called, bounding over to him as Edie started to drive away.

 

“Hey Bella!”  He wrapped me in a warm bear hug.  I had just seen him on Saturday, but it somehow felt like it had been years.  Similarly, we had just reconnected on Saturday but I felt we had been best friends our entire lives.  “Dad, this is Bella.”

 

Billy appraised me with black eyes full of intelligence.  “Oh, I remember.  How are you, Bella?”  his question seemed to ask more than that.  I wondered if he had noticed who had dropped me off.

 

“I’m doing great, now.  I’m really happy to be living here with my dad.”  The words that I never thought I’d say in my lifetime were more true now than ever.  “And speak of the devil…”

 

Charlie’s cruiser pulled into the driveway while the three of us moved out of his way.  

 

“Billy!”  He jumped out of the car and greeted his friend, then they proceeded to chase each other around the driveway.  I had never seen my dad act so goofy.

 

“Are they always like this?” I asked Jacob.

 

“It’s getting worse with old age,” he cracked, and I laughed all the way to the front door.

 

Once inside, I asked if anyone was hungry.  I myself was starving, having only managed a few bites of food in between answering Edie’s questions at lunch.  They all answered yes so I proceeded to fry up some grilled cheese sandwiches for us all.  I listened to my dad talking to Billy.  His voice brought back a rush of memories from my childhood.  Things like going fishing and camping that at the time had seemed dreadful but looking back were some of the most fun I’d had.  I was starting to realize that my mom had painted a very one-sided picture of Forks whenever she talked about how glad she was to have moved away.

 

“You’re staying for the game, right?”  Charlie asked as we wolfed down our sandwiches.

 

“That’s the idea,” Jacob answered.  “Our TV just broke.”  Billy shot him a look that said if he could have he would have kicked him for that.  

 

Charlie just laughed at his expression.  “You know you’re welcome anytime. It’s been too long.”  I was glad to see Charlie in such a good mood.  He worked so much that I worried he never had time for much else.

 

“Weather’s supposed to be good on Saturday, you up for some fishing?”  Billy asked him,

 

“You bet!”  Charlie agreed immediately, then looked at me sheepishly.

 

“Sorry Bells, I know you wanted the truck this weekend, but when the fish are biting…”

 

“Don’t worry about it Dad.  I had already decided not to go up to Seattle by myself anyway.  Besides, we’re getting low on fish.  We must be down to a two-, maybe three-year supply.”  I razzed him and he grinned.

 

“Good deal.  So it’s settled then.”  He and Billy left the table to watch the basketball game in the living room.

 

“Hey, if you need someone to go up to Seattle with you I’m game.”  Jacob told me.

 

“That would be awesome!”  I pictured us checking out the best bookstores and restaurants, and hanging out by the water.  “Just not this weekend.  I sort of have other plans.”

 

He caught on right away that I hadn’t mentioned this in front of Charlie for a reason.  “Oh yeah?  Would this have something to do with your mysterious chauffeur?”

 

“Shhh!”  I wacked his shoulder with the back of my hand.  “Let’s go upstairs.”  He helped finish up the dishes and then we snuck up to my room.  I closed the door, then ran to my window to make sure Evie wasn’t still out there listening.  Though I wasn’t entirely sure how far away she could _listen_.

 

“So?  Is she your girlfriend?” He was practically bouncing on the bed.

 

“It’s not like that.  She’s...different.”  How to explain Evie Cullen?

 

“If by different you mean insanely hot!”  Jacob enthused.

 

“Well yeah, I mean obviously.”  I had to agree with him.  Initially I had thought Rosalie to be the most beautiful girl I’d ever seen.  But that was before I’d seen Edie smile… “But there’s more to her than that.”

 

“Really?  Like what?”

 

“Like, she’s even more amazing behind the face.”

 

Jacob snorted.  “Yeah like that’s even possible.”

 

I sort of agreed with him again.  How could someone be so beautiful both inside and out?  The vampire that saved people, who didn’t want to be a monster.

 

“So do you _like_ her?” Jacob pressed.  I considered that.  It hadn’t really occurred to me that Edie could be a romantic interest.  Do vampires feel love?  But even if she could, what would be the chances that she could ever feel that way about me?

 

“I don’t know.  Honestly, it’s hard to even think coherently when I’m with her.”

 

“Yeah I bet.” Jacob nodded sagely, like he had experienced similar incoherency at some point.  “There’s this girl in my class, Leah.  Whenever she’s around I turn into a complete idiot.  It’s not fair.”

 

“Definitely not fair.”  I commiserated.

 

“So what’s your girl’s name?” He asked.

 

“Edie….Cullen.” I barely whispered her last name, fearing his reaction.

 

“What?!” He jumped up from the bed.  I definitely wasn’t expecting this.  “Bella, are you insane?  Didn’t you listen to _anything_ I told you?”

 

“Yeah, I did.” I was defensive now.  “You don’t actually _believe_ any of that, do you?”  I went for derision, hoping to mask the fact that I now knew it was all true.

 

“There’s a reason why they’re still not allowed on the reservation.  They are dangerous.  Please, you have to stay away from them.  I don’t want you to get hurt.”  His deep brown eyes were large with worry.  I realized that the tribe’s mistrust of the Cullens ran deeply.

 

“I’ll be okay, Jacob, I promise.  I can handle it.  Edie is...good.”

 

“I don’t know what kind of spell she’s got you under, but you can’t trust her.  Any of them.”

 

“Jacob, she saved my life.”  That stopped him in his tracks.

 

“What? How?”

 

So I told him everything, from the day I saw her face in the mirror to the man in the alley in Port Angeles.  

 

“Wow.” He breathed.  “It’s all true then.”  

 

“I know.”

“I always thought it was an exaggeration, and they were just like a mob family or something and that’s why they weren’t allowed here.”

 

“Crazy, isn’t it?” I mused.  “But the part about them not hurting people is true too, remember that.”

 

“Okay, but just….just be careful.  Please?”

 

“I will.  I mean, I am.  I promise.”

 

“Good.”

 

“Jake?”  Billy called from downstairs.  “Time to go, son!”

 

We trudged back down the stairs and hugged goodbye.

 

“Call me on Saturday,” Jacob told me pointedly.

 

“You got it.”  He wanted to make sure I arrived back home safely after spending the day with Evie.

 

He wheeled his father out to their truck and they drove off into the night.

  
  


**_Edie_ **

 

When Thursday morning dawned I was ready with another onslaught of questions for Bella.  Since none of my easily answered questions had produced any clues for me, I decided to dig a little deeper.  

 

“So what did you and Jacob talk about last night?” I began.  

 

She gaped at me, looking scandalized.  “Uh uh, no way.  That’s strictly best friends’ stuff.”

 

“Ok, fine.  How long have you and Jacob been friends?”

 

She told me about her childhood visits with her Dad, going to the reservation and going on camping and fishing trips every summer.  She mentioned Jacob’s two sisters, and her face blushed a deep red that extended over the tips of her ears and down her neck.  I was finally getting somewhere.  I filed the information away for later.

 

I asked her about her friends back in Phoenix and there wasn’t much there.  She was reclusive due to her debilitating shyness.  She worried about her mom a lot, and studied a lot.  And read books, endlessly books.  That topic kept her talking for the rest of the day.  We were in the middle of an argument about who loved each other more truly, Heathcliff or Cathy.  My pick was Heathcliff, of course, but she stubbornly refused to see that his vengeful actions were indicative of his undying love.  We decided to call it a day as the rain poured down around us where we sat in my car in her driveway.

 

“So is it my turn tomorrow?” She asked before leaving.

 

“Absolutely not!  I’m not finished yet.”

 

“What else is there?”

 

“You’ll just have to find out tomorrow.”

 

“That’s not fair!”  She pouted.

 

“Hasn’t anyone ever told you?  Life isn’t fair.”

 

“I believe I have heard that somewhere before.”  She was grinning again, and I was happy to leave her on a high note.  

 

The next morning I picked right up where I’d left off, arguing for Heathcliff.  

 

She jumped right in.  “You just can’t expect me to believe that someone who treats others with such wanton cruelty is capable of the kind of love you’re describing!”  She was glorious when she argued, her face flushed, eyes bright and pulse racing.  As much as I admired her conviction, I wanted desperately for her to see my side.  For if Heathcliff wasn’t deserving of love, then how could I ever be?

 

“And you know this from personal experience?” I goaded her.

 

It worked.  Her flush deepened and her pulse accelerated beyond the excitement of the debate.

 

“Um, well no, uh not exactly.” She stammered, nervously fiddling with her hair and not meeting my eyes.  

 

“First question today: how many people have you dated?”  It was time to get personal.  I knew I was getting close to the truth.  She was more uncomfortable now than she’d ever been in my presence before.

 

“None.” She whispered, and I could hear intense pain behind her answer.

 

“Why not?”  I pressed.

 

“Next question.”  There were tears in her eyes.

 

“Bella, have you ever been in love?”  I was pushing her now, but I was so close and I just _had_ to know.

 

“Next.”  The word was sharp and definitive, and now she was making full eye contact and glaring at me forcefully.  If I pushed her again she would snap.  I decided against it, not willing to risk shattering the trust we had so carefully built between us.  We arrived at the school parking lot and she hurried out of the car, slamming the door behind her while I sat there perplexed.

 

She ignored me all morning, and I was starting to worry that I had in fact pushed her too far.  Then Alice pulled me aside before lunch.

 

“What are you doing?” She hissed, and I could hear in her thoughts that her vision of us this weekend had returned.  That meant that Bella wouldn’t be with us after all, and she would be vulnerable to the visitors.  I could have kicked myself.  There was too much at stake to be worrying about what secrets Bella was hiding.  I had to make it right, and fast.

 

I found her in the cafeteria.  She was already sitting at what had become our table, so she must not hate me too much.  I sat down across from her and tried my best to look remorseful.

 

“Bella, I am so sorry.  I had no right to pry into your personal life.  Can you please find it in your heart to forgive me?”  I looked up at her from under my lashes, trying for contrite for the first time in my long life.  To my surprise, her heart started beating a staccato rhythm and she had stopped breathing altogether.  What had I done wrong?

 

I was about to apologize again when she finally regained her composure enough to speak.  “You’re forgiven.” Her voice came out in a squeak.  Then her eyes widened as Alice appeared suddenly at my shoulder.

 

“Edie, since Bella will be spending the day with us tomorrow we need to go on a _long_ hunting trip tonight.”  She whispered so only I could hear.  I searched her mind, and to my relief- and Alice’s continued frustration- our entire day tomorrow was completely blank.  I sighed: Bella would be with us.  Bella would be safe.

 

I looked back across the table at Bella, and she was watching us expectantly.

 

“Bella, this is my sister Alice.  Alice, Bella.”

 

“Hi Bella!”  Alice gushed in her soprano voice.  “It’s wonderful to finally meet you!”

 

Bella looked taken aback by Alice’s enthusiasm.  I stomped on her toe under the table and she pinched me in the side.  Neither of our expressions changed, and Bella was none the wiser.

 

“Nice to meet you too, Alice.” Bella returned, though she sounded a bit intimidated.  

 

“Bella and I were just discussing the plan for tomorrow.”  I said.  “Do you still want to spend the day with me?”  I asked her, though I already knew she would say yes.

 

“Yes, I would like that.  Are you sure it’s okay with your family?”  I could tell she was nervous about meeting all of them at once.  I didn’t blame her.

 

“Don’t worry Bella, we are all looking forward to getting to know you.”  Alice told her with her unfailing optimism.  Bella smiled hesitantly.

 

“Then I will see you tomorrow.”  She told Alice, who finally took the hint and turned to leave.  On her way she landed one last painful pinch to my shoulder.  There would be payback later.

 

“Alice just informed me that we have to leave on a hunting expedition.”  I said to Bella.  

 

“You’re leaving now?”  Bella actually sounded disappointed.

 

“I’m sorry I won’t be able to drive you home this afternoon.”  I told her honestly.

 

“That’s alright, I’ll be fine.”

 

“What time would you like me to pick you up tomorrow?”

 

“Oh, it doesn’t matter.”

 

“It’s a Saturday, don’t you want to sleep in?”

 

“No!” She answered quickly and I smiled.  “I mean, I’m not big on oversleeping.”

 

“Then I’ll be there at the usual time.”  I smiled, glad to know that I wouldn’t be spending another tedious weekend indoors.  Bella would be with me, and she would be safe.  She smiled back and I took my leave.

 

When my family hunted as a group, we liked to travel into the wilderness so that we wouldn’t impact our local wildlife too drastically.  Alice and I left the cafeteria and met Emmett, Rosalie, and Jasper in the parking lot at Emmett’s jeep.  It was a monstrous vehicle, lifted for high clearance and complete with roll bars and top lights.  The five of us settled in for the long drive.  Carlisle and Esme would meet us there.  We all wanted to be well satiated when the human came to visit tomorrow.

 

I was anxious once again to be away from Bella.

  


“Stop worrying,” Jasper told me, picking up on my mood with his special talent.  “Alice saw them coming during the thunderstorm, not before.”  He reminded me.  I could feel his power working on me as my muscles started to relax.

 

“Thanks Jazz,” I told him.  “Are you okay with this?”  He was the newest one to join our group and was still adjusting to not feeding on humans.  

 

“I feel ready,” he answered confidently in his Southern drawl.  “This will be an excellent test.”

 

I pressed my lips together.  I would prefer if he did not use Bella as a test, but Jasper was never one to walk away from a challenge.  “If you feel yourself losing control…” I warned him.

 

“Of course I will remove myself.” He assured me quickly.  “I am not going to put her in danger.  But I want to know if I can do this.”

 

“You can,” Alice told him with complete confidence.  Then they were looking into each other’s eyes the way perfectly matched lovers do and I had to look away.  It was never easy, being the seventh wheel in a household with three pairs of married couples.  I was still mystified as to how they continued to hold each other’s attention after so many decades- centuries in Carlisle and Esme’s case.  They had tried to fix me up over the years, of course, but I had never once felt that draw, that attraction that everyone else seemed to feel for their partners.  I was quite content on my own, but sometimes I wondered if I was missing out on something..

 

It’s an eight hour drive to Okanogan National Forest; with Emmett driving and me scanning for highway patrol, we made it in just over five.  We parked in our usual clearing, and Carlisle and Esme were already there.  We fanned out in teams, each group heading in a different direction.  I ate the most.  I wanted to leave no chance that I would be even remotely hungry when Bella arrived tomorrow.

 

Emmett was laughing at me as I devoured my seventh moose.  “You know that’s not gonna make your girl any less tempting tomorrow.”  He was covered in blood, his shirt hanging in tatters, and he had a giant smile on his face.  He had found a grizzly just coming out of hibernation.  For Emmett, there was nothing more fun than wrestling a bear.  It wasn’t only the challenge of overcoming a large predator: Emmett had been mauled by a bear as a human hunting in Canada when Rosalie had found him and brought him home to be transformed into one of us.  He’d never gotten over it.

 

I glared at him.  “No point in taking undue risks.”

 

He shook his head.  “I still don’t get why you’re putting yourself through this.  It’s like you and Alice both took a crazy pill or something.”

 

How could I explain how Alice and I felt to have encountered someone our gifts don’t work on?  “Look at it this way: how would you feel if you ever met someone stronger than you?”

 

He scoffed, confident that could never happen.  But then comprehension lit his face.  “Oh,” he said, suddenly getting it.  “So you think you’re gonna find a way to unlock her brain?”

 

“That would be nice, but I’m not counting on it.”

 

“So, why keep torturing yourself?”

 

“I don’t know.  It’s like, ever since I realized I _couldn’t_ read her thoughts, I suddenly _had_ to know what she was thinking.  It’s driving me mad.”

 

“I noticed!” he gibed, and I tackled him.  We wrestled for a few minutes, but since my _hearing_ alerted me to every move he was about to make he quickly started losing in spite of his strength.

 

“You’re no fun!  Can’t you just turn it off for once and fight fair?”

 

“Oh please, like you would even consider giving up your strength to even the odds?”

 

He nodded in agreement before grabbing me in a headlock and mussing my hair.

 

“Aw c’mon Em let go!”  I twisted out of his grip nimbly and danced out of reach.

 

Our play-fighting almost always ended this way.  We ran back to the clearing, out of breath and grinning.  I was so full of blood I felt sluggish and sleepy, but happy.  I knew it would do little to counteract the extreme bloodlust I felt for Bella, but I had to at least try.  I fell asleep on the drive home, content in the fact that Alice’s vision- or lack thereof- hadn’t changed while we were gone and Bella would be with me tomorrow.


	13. The Family

**_Bella_ **

 

I was wide awake at three am.  It was impossible to go back to sleep.  Today I was meeting a family of vampires.  

 

I lay awake staring at the ceiling for two hours.  Then at five I heard Charlie getting ready for his fishing trip.  As soon as he was out the door I got up and turned on my light.  What does a person talk about with vampires?  I wondered.   I felt so completely out of my league here.  The only consolation was that Edie had promised to answer all of my questions today.  So I took out a notebook and started writing them all down.  I was sure to forget many of them when confronted by so many unknown people- vampires or not, I always have a hard time making conversation with people I don’t know.

 

When I had finished jotting down as many questions as I could think of, I decided to take a long shower.  The hot water helped to ease much of the tension in my muscles and clear my head.  I then dryed my hair and took my time straightening it with a flat iron.  I wanted to try to look nice and make a good impression.  I had no idea how they would receive me.  

 

I made myself a large cup of coffee but couldn’t manage any breakfast.  My stomach was twisting up in knots.  I sat at the kitchen table savoring the hot drink and staring out the window at the driveway.  A few rays of sunlight were breaking through the dense trees, and I wondered how Evie was going to manage picking me up.  I shouldn’t have worried.

 

At seven am sharp her jet black Corvette appeared in the driveway.  In the daylight it was apparent that the windows were deeply tinted, making them almost as dark as the car itself.  I bounded out the front door to meet her, almost forgetting to lock it behind me.

 

She was wearing a black turtle-neck sweater, black leather gloves, a scarf around her head and giant sunglasses.   

 

“Good morning,” she greeted me as usual.  Her voice was muffled by the scarf, and I couldn’t help myself.

 

“Oh, are we robbing a bank today?  You should have told me, I would have changed.”  I couldn’t be sure under the sunglasses, but I was betting she was rolling her eyes.

 

We sped through the empty streets at breakneck speed, probably trying to get me back for the wisecrack, but to me it was thrilling.  Soon we were leaving the town limits, the houses becoming further apart.  I was about to ask just where she lived when we took a hairpin turn onto a dirt road that I hadn’t even seen from the highway.  It wound through the forest, more a trail than an actual road, and then opened to a huge meadow.  In the center was the most beautiful house I’d ever seen in my life.  

 

It rose three stories tall, a white and glass marvel of modern architecture.  It looked out of place amidst the ancient redwood trees surrounding it, keeping it shaded at all hours of the day I imagined.  My mouth was hanging open as we approached, and I was certain Edie was chuckling under her scarf.  We drove up through a tree-lined driveway and into one of the eight single-car garage doors.  Only when the garage door closed behind us did Edie remove her scarf and glasses.  

 

The garage was gigantic, even with all eight vehicles inside.  The wall facing all of the cars was covered with tools, and a workbench was stationed at the far side.  I thought I caught a glimpse of blonde hair as I craned my head, taking in all of the top-of-the line vehicles contained in this room.  Sure enough, as I watched a shiny red convertible in the very last space start rising up on a mechanical platform, Rosalie appeared from underneath it.  

 

“Hello Edie,” she said coolly, walking over to greet us.

 

“Rose,” Edie answered back, “this is Bella.”

 

“Hi.” My voice came out barely audible as I took in the voluptuous beauty standing in front of me.  She smirked, clearly accustomed to reactions like mine.  

 

“Such a pleasure to meet you,” she purred.  “I would shake your hand, but well…” She held her palms out and they were covered in grease.

 

There was an uneasy silence, and I caught Evie glaring at her sister, presumably about something Rosalie was thinking.  I could not fathom what it could be, so I just waited quietly.  Finally Edie led me through a door on our left and into the house.

 

The great room was impressive to say the least.  The ceiling rose high above us, and a curved marble staircase led up to the second floor balcony.  Above that, the third floor balcony.  But what amazed me the most was the far wall beyond the living room: it was solid glass from floor to ceiling.

 

Edie must have anticipated my reaction.  She was watching me, her crooked smile lighting her face.  “Not what you expected?”  She asked me.

 

“Well,” I answered, “I’m sure you keep your coffins in the basement of course.”

 

Edie laughed, and I heard an echoing laugh from somewhere above us sounding like the tinkling of bells.  Alice had appeared on the third floor balcony, Jasper beside her.

 

“Hi Bella!”  She called down exuberantly, and before I could answer she had raced down the two flights of stairs and pulled me into a sudden embrace.  I tensed; I had not expected this at all.  Her skin was icy cold, and her dark brown eyes, almost black, sparkled with intelligence and mirth.  “Oh my, you _do_ smell good.”  She pulled away from me suddenly.  “I hadn’t noticed before.”  Her eyes had now taken on a darker glint and I stepped closer to Edie.  Alice reminded me of a sprite, with her short dark hair sticking up in all directions and the way each of her movements was like dancing.  I remembered that sprites could be mischievous, and had to wonder if some of the stories were in fact about Alice herself.  I tried to remember to add that one to my list.

 

“Easy, Alice.”  Edie warned her sister.  She nodded and was back up on the third floor with Jasper in the blink of an eye.

 

“See you in a little while, Bella!”  She said as they turned away.

 

“What was that?”  I asked Edie, a little breathless.

 

“That,” she told me, “was Alice.  She...takes some getting used to.”

 

“And Jasper?”  

 

“He’s keeping his distance.  He hasn’t been a- vegetarian- for very long.”  She grinned, obviously still enjoying my analogy.  “It’s still very difficult for him to maintain control.  I didn’t want to take any chances.”

 

We walked through the great room to a cozy sitting room where Carlisle sat with a very pretty woman whose hair fell like dark spun gold around her shoulders.  This must be Edie’s mother Esme.  They stood and beckoned us in.  I suddenly felt nervous for an entirely different reason.  What if they didn’t like me?  I knew without having to ask that if these two did not approve of me, I would not be in Edie’s life for much longer.

 

Then Esme smiled a warm and welcoming smile, and I relaxed immediately.  Her face shone with love and affection, and she suddenly reminded me of my own mother.  The constant ache I’d felt since leaving her became more acute for a moment, then it receded into the background again.  

 

“Carlisle, Esme, this is Bella.” Edie introduced me.

 

“You are very welcome here, Bella.” Esme grasped my hand in hers, and this time I anticipated the cold of her skin.

 

“Good to see you again, Bella.” Carlisle said, shaking my hand as well.

 

“You too, Doctor Cullen.” I was still intimidated by his bearing and his penetrating ice-blue eyes.  

But he smiled genuinely, and I felt more at ease.  “Please, call me Carlisle.”

 

“Carlisle,” I echoed.  “You have a beautiful home here, thank you for having me.”

 

My formal tone surprised me, but seemed to fit the atmosphere.  My eyes roved the room, taking in the opulent luxury all around me.  The carpet was white and plush, the walls a softer white and hung with remarkable artwork.  Then as I turned around I noticed the exquisite grand piano on a raised platform in the back of the room.

 

I felt wistful looking at it.  My mom and I had always said that if we won the lottery the first thing we would buy would be a grand piano.  Neither of us were very good, but we had loved butchering jazz duets together on our apartment-sized upright.  The most we had mastered was chopsticks, but I remembered vividly how much we had laughed together as we practiced, fumbling along the keys and getting our hands tangled together.  

 

Esme noticed my longing gaze.  “Do you play?” She asked me softly.

 

“Not well,” I mumbled, “and it’s been years.”

 

“You’re welcome to try it.”  She led me over to the bench and lifted the fallboard, exposing the gleaming ivory keys.  I couldn’t resist.

 

I sat down, feeling embarrassed, and ran through a few warm-up scales.  I was amazed at how easily it was coming back to me.  I became completely absorbed in playing, and when I felt warmed up enough I began the beginning notes of my favorite song Moonlight Sonata.  The deep somber tones transported me back to my childhood.  Unfortunately, as usual, when I got to the more complex combinations my fingers started hitting the wrong keys more and more frequently and I got frustrated.   I had never been able to complete this complicated song even once through, though I had tried many times.  

 

I looked up to see I had an audience.  Edie was staring at me, an unfathomable expression on her face, and Esme was staring at her with a meaningful look that I could not decipher.  Carlisle was sitting back in his chair looking mildly amused.  I remembered to be embarrassed again and put my hands down in my lap.

 

“Don’t give up,” Edie told me, “Let me help you.”  She walked over and sat down on the bench beside me, gesturing for me to start from the beginning again.  I played the bass lines, which were steady and repetitive, then Edie joined in on the treble.  Together, we completed the song all the way through.  It had never sounded so beautiful to me, and as we finished my eyes were getting misty.  Esme and Carlisle applauded us.

 

“Thank you,” I told Edie, overcome with emotion.  “I’ve always wanted to be able to play that song.  I wish-” my voice caught, “I wish my mom was here.”  

 

The room got very quiet, and I realized Esme and Carlisle had left silently.  

 

“My mother,” Edie began, her voice full of emotion as well, “my biological mother, was also a pianist.  She taught me Moonlight Sonata when I was young.  I always aspired to play like her.  She could play from memory, or sit before sheet music she had never seen before and play it to perfection.  Of course, I can do that now thanks to my exceptional memory and reflexes,” she grinned, lightening the mood.  “But it is not the same.”

 

“What were you like as a human?”  I blurted before considering if the question might be rude.  

 

“Have we arrived at the question and answer portion of the day?”  She asked, still grinning.

 

“You knew this was coming,” I reminded her, and she nodded.  I pulled my notebook out of my pocket and flipped it open, and she snorted.

 

“Here we go,” she said.  “Perhaps we should find somewhere more comfortable to sit?”

 

I agreed, and she closed the piano as we walked away. We were back in the great room at the base of the stairs when she spoke again.

 

“While we’re here, I might as well show you the rest of the house.”

 

I knew she was stalling, but I was also dying to see more of this phenomenal place.  I felt content knowing we had the entire day before us to talk.  We climbed the polished white staircase to the second floor.  We crossed the landing and entered a long hallway, where I stopped with a gasp.  At the end of the hall hung a massive wooden cross.  

 

I glanced sideways at Edie.  “A crucifix?”  I asked.

 

She smiled crookedly.  “It is a bit ironic, isn’t it?  And no, they don’t hurt us.  Though in the past, the people who carried them did.”

 

“You were hunted by the church?”  

 

She nodded gravely.  “This particular cross was hand-carved by Carlisle’s father in the early sixteen-thirties.”  She watched for my reaction.  

 

I tried to keep my face smooth as I did the mental calculations.  “So that would make Carlisle three hundred and...”

 

“Sixty-two.” She finished for me.

 

“Wow.” That was an understatement.  I could not even begin to wrap my mind around that many years.

 

“Carlisle was raised to be a witch-hunter.”  Edie continued.  “He was the only son of an intolerant Anglican minister. The real monsters easily evaded their hunts, and they burned many innocent people at the stake in their place.  But he soon surpassed his father in their quest to uncover evil.”  Her tone was now sinister.  “Carlisle discovered a coven of true vampires living in the London underground.  He went on his own, anxious to prove himself worthy of his father’s holy war.  He waited at the exit where he had seen the vampires disappear at dawn.  Sure enough, come nightfall the vampires emerged, hungry and vicious.  He didn’t stand a chance.”

 

“How did he survive?” I gasped, horrified.

 

“He believes the head vampire wanted to send a message to the minister, for if his own son had become one of them then no one was safe.  They left Carlisle in the street to endure the painful transition alone.”

 

“It’s painful?  Becoming like you?”

 

“Oh yes.  It’s the worst pain you could ever imagine.”  She turned back to look up at the giant crucifix.  “He keeps this with him as a reminder of who he was as a human and who he never wants to be again.  Since that day he has never taken a human life.  He believes his fate is retribution for his sins, and he spends his eternity atoning for them.”

 

I was stunned into silence.  I could not imagine anyone bearing the weight of such guilt for so many lifetimes.

 

Edie noticed the pained expression on my face.  She reached out slowly, cautiously, watching my face for the slightest reaction, and took my hand in hers.  I sucked in my breath when I felt her touch.  I had expected the cold, of course, after shaking hands with her parents.  What I didn’t expect was the heat that surged up from my fingertips up into my heart, which was now beating wildly.  

 

“Come on,” she said, pulling me forward through the doorway beneath the cross.  “I want to show you something.”

  
  


**_Edie_ **

 

I listened to Bella’s heart careening around inside her chest as I took her by the hand.  I was testing a new theory.  Funny that Rosalie would be the one to put me on the correct path to discovering Bella’s secret.  

 

We entered Carlisle’s study, and Bella’s mouth opened wide as she took in the floor-to-ceiling bookshelves.  I smiled, happy that I had anticipated her reaction correctly.  I gave her time to examine the titles.  She looked at them reverently, often pointing to one and exclaiming, but never touching them, as if she thought they would break.  

 

Finally she had made a full circuit around the room and came back to where I stood.  I stepped to the side so that she could examine the wall behind me.  Instead of books, this wall was covered in oil paintings from the floor, around the door frame and to the ceiling.  Again I let her peruse them, waiting for the inevitable avalanche of questions.  

 

“Is that... _Carlisle_?”  She asked finally, pointing to the most prominent and colorful painting.

 

“Yes it is,” I told her, my lips twitching at the corners as I tried not to smile at her incredulity. “This was Italy, late eighteenth century.  This is where Carlisle met the Volturi.”

 

“The who?” Bella asked as we settled into two of the giant stuffed leather armchairs in Carlisle’s office.

 

“The Volturi are a triumvirate of ancient vampires.  They imagine themselves to be our rulers.  In fact, they are the closest thing we have to law enforcement.  If any of our laws are broken, they always know, and they always punish offenders with death.  This is Aro,” I pointed to the black-haired vampire in the center of the painting, “Marcus,” I indicated the vampire next to Aro, also black-haired, “and Caius.” The last was so blond his hair was white.

 

“And do they know about me?” Her voice was shaky.

 

“Perhaps.” I answered, but now I wondered.  It was a mystery how the Volturi obtained their information.  Carlisle and I had always suspected it was a special gift, like my mind-reading.  Did that mean that Bella would be immune to them as well?  “But somehow I doubt it.”  I told her, and she seemed to relax.  “The Volturi had offered Carlisle a place with them.  It is the highest honor in our world, according to them.  But he refused.  They had never accepted his alternative feeding habits, and conversely it was increasingly difficult for him to look away when they fed on humans.  So they parted ways.  But the Volturi do not take kindly to being slighted.  Since then they have been keen for a reason to punish him.  Of course, he never makes a mistake.”

 

“What is Carlisle’s special gift?”  She asked.

 

“Tenacity.  He can achieve anything he sets his mind to with unfailing focus.  That is how he was able to resist feeding on humans when he was first turned.  He was repulsed by what he had become, and he refused to succumb to the bloodlust.  To this day his record remains clean.  It’s...impressive to say the least.  When we first turn, that is the most difficult time.  This hunger takes over everything.  Only with practice, and not to mention eons of time, can we attempt to control our nature.  He spent the better part of two centuries learning to control himself enough to work in a hospital.  Part of his self prescribed penance, you see.  Now he is all but immune to the scent of human blood,and he is able to do the work he loves without agony. He finds a great deal of peace there, at the hospital."  I stopped to give her a chance to ask one of the burning questions that swam behind her eyes.  Instead, to my surprise, she waited for me to continue, looking expectant.  At that point I made a decision.  

 

“But he still craved companionship.” I told her.  “After the disappointment with the Volturi in Italy, he swam across the channel back to London.  He longed to find someone who shared his unique outlook on being a vampire, that it didn’t mean we had to be murderers.  But most of the other vampires he met, aside from the Volturi, were nomadic beasts with no sense of culture or civility.  He became desolate, convinced he was doomed to walk the earth alone.  Then finally he realized, if he could not find a companion, perhaps he could _create_ one.  That was when he found me.”  I heard Bella’s sharp intake of breath and watched her inch forward in her chair.  I knew this was something she had been waiting for.  I sat back, determined to draw this out.

 

“Carlisle went to Ireland to help the hospitals battling the Typhus epidemic.  He worked tirelessly, relieving doctor after doctor as they each succumbed to the disease.  We of course are immune to human diseases.”  She raised her eyebrows at this.  “He found me after my parents had lost their fight with the sickness.  I was still holding on, but just barely.  He knew that I was alone, and I was dying.  He chose me, and since that day he has been my teacher, my mentor, and my father.”

 

She was silent for a long while before she spoke quietly.  “Does a person have to be dying, to become like you?” She asked.

 

“No, that is just Carlisle’s way.  He would never do that to someone who had another choice.”

 

“How does it happen?”

 

“A single bite.  That is all it takes for our venom to enter the bloodstream.  But it almost never happens by accident.”

 

“What do you mean?”

 

“The moment we taste human blood, we are...overcome.  It is nearly impossible to stop once the feeding begins.  We only return to ourselves after the victim is dead.  Carlisle, with his ability, was able to turn me.  Most vampires try and fail hundreds of times before they are able to create another.  Otherwise, the world might be overrun by now.”  I tried to smile through the seriousness of what I was saying.  Bella looked visibly shaken and I studied her with concern.

 

“What?” She asked me, uncomfortable with my scrutiny.

 

“I’m waiting for you to realize you’ve made a terrible mistake and run away screaming.”

 

She shook her head.  “That’s not going to happen.”  She sounded sure of herself.

 

“Well, then.”  I told her, standing up and extending my hand to her.  “Let the tour continue.”

 

She placed her hand in mine, and my cold skin warmed at her touch.  She was like the sun on a winter day, thawing everything she touched.  I kept her hand as we walked back toward the staircase, and felt elation wash through me with each second that passed that she didn’t pull her hand away in repulsion.  We climbed the stairs once again and emerged on the third floor.

 

“Have you always lived with Carlisle since you were turned?”  She always asked the questions I was most loathe to answer.

 

“No,” I began, unsure of how much to divulge.  So far the truth had been met with understanding, but how far did her empathy extend?  “At the beginning, he helped me learn how to live off of animals.  It was very difficult and I made many mistakes.  But strangely, once I had mastered the bloodlust I became resentful that he had forced his beliefs on me.  He let me go off on my own, knowing that I needed to make the choice for myself.

 

“I used my ability to choose my victims judiciously.  I had convinced myself that if I only preyed upon criminals- murderers and rapists especially- then I was justified.  If it saved the life of their victim, then it was right that I took their life instead.  A life for a life.”  I looked at her face, terrified of what I would see there.  I was shocked to find her looking at me with an expression of awe.  I led her down the hall to the last door on the right.  

 

“But after only a few decades, the taking of so many lives was taking its toll on me.  No matter how vile they were, what gave me the right to end their life?  I had been playing God for too long.  I went crawling back to Carlisle and begged him to help me stop.  And he did.  He welcomed me with open arms.  In my absence he had created Esme, and I rejoined our new family.  Since then I have been fighting against my true nature, one day at a time.”  Bella smiled at my analogy, and I couldn’t help but grin back at her.  Once again she had accepted me, the whole truth about me, with unfailing compassion.  She truly was incredible.  “Here we are.”  I opened the door to my room and led her inside.


	14. Secrets

**_Bella_ **

 

Edie opened a door on her right and pulled me inside.  I didn’t want to let go of her hand, but I dropped it in my amazement.  This room was as luxurious as the others, with thick gold carpet, a black leather couch, and glass french doors leading to a private balcony.  But that wasn’t what had caught my attention.  Here, the walls were filled with more music than I’d ever seen in my lifetime.  Beginning with a vintage phonograph in the left corner, transitioning to records along one wall, a small collection of cassette tapes in the far corner, and finally the right side wall completely covered with shelves upon shelves of CDs.  The far right corner held a state-of-the-art stereo system.  Edie saw what had caught my eye and waltzed over to switch it on.  

 

The music sounded as if the jazz band was right there in the room with us, though I didn’t think even a live performance would have sounded better.  It was a moment before I recognized the song: _La Vie en Rose_ , the Louis Armstrong version.  I started looking through the CDs closest to me, but there was so much it was impossible to take it all in.  

 

“How do you have these organized?” I asked her.

 

“Chronologically by personal preference.”  She answered offhandedly, watching me examine her collection.  Now that I had a frame of reference I began to notice that the titles closest to me were from this year, getting older as I walked toward her.  “Hand me your phone.”  She requested.

 

I retrieved my phone out of my pocket somewhat reluctantly.  I always had it on me and wasn’t usually comfortable with letting others use it.  But she took it from me in one smooth motion and before I could protest was plugging it into one of the many docking stations on the stereo.  She scrolled through to my playlist and selected the most played song.   _More for Me_ came through the surround sound and it had never sounded better.  I smiled, listening to the familiar lyrics and bobbing my head along to the beat while I continued to read more CD titles.  

 

“I like this,” Edie said, and her tone implied she was pleasantly surprised.     

 

“It’s Tegan and Sara,” I told her.  “Canadian indie-folk-pop.”

 

She grinned.  “I’m definitely adding them to list.”  Her smile broadened as she watched me.

 

“Excellent nineties selection.” I murmured appreciatively as I perused her CDs.  “Ugh, eighties, blech.”

 

She chuckled.  “Music in the eighties was good.  The seventies were abysmal though.”

 

I looked at her, my eyes narrowing.  “Are you ever going to tell me how old you really are?”

 

She lifted her chin and feigned outrage.  “A lady never tells.” She sniffed.

 

“Oh right, because you’re a _lady,_ sure.”  I retorted, but then something in her expression stopped me.  “Wait…. _are_ you?”

 

“Lady Edythe Masen of Yorkshire, at your service.” She said in a perfect British accent, and curtsied.  Even wearing a turtle-neck and jeans, the movement looked graceful and practiced.  My mouth fell open.

 

“No way!”  

 

But she started laughing.  “Gotcha!”  she cried, and I threw her a dirty look.  “My family was as peasant as they come.  My father was a simple farmer and my mother was involved in the church.  It was the one place in town that had a piano, and they let her play during services every Sunday.”

 

“And this was when exactly?” I pressed.

 

She sighed.  Obviously I wasn’t giving up.  “I was born in England in 1801.”

 

“Okay.” I said, glad to finally have a reference point.

 

“Okay?” She asked, gaping at me.  “That’s it?

 

“What were you expecting?”

 

“I just told you that I am over two-hundred years old, and you didn’t even blink an eye.”

 

“Well after the whole vampire reveal nothing seems too shocking anymore.”

 

She stared at me, her face inscrutable.

 

“What is it now?”  I asked, always unnerved by her stare.  “Still waiting for the running and the screaming?”

 

She laughed.  “Yes.  It could still happen.  But I was thinking about how nice it is, that you know everything about me now.  It’s more than just relief at not having to pretend to be normal.  It makes me...happy.”  She smiled at me, and I smiled back.  “I was also thinking about how once again you have managed to surprise me.”

 

“How do you mean?”

 

“Well, like this:” she gestured in the direction of my phone. “you have music I have never heard.  And _I’m_ a world traveler.”  She said this with a mocking haughty tone.

 

I rolled my eyes.  “The Canadian music scene is a veritable goldmine for indie music.”  I told her self-importantly.  “You really need to get out more.”

 

Her loud laughter cut through the music.  “You’re right, I do!  But good luck convincing Emmett to go back there again.  He’s still sore about the bear that attacked him.”

 

“What happened?”

 

“He was hunting in the Yukon, tracking a herd of moose when he stumbled into a grizzly sow.  She was protecting her two cubs.  But instead of just backing off, Emmett- never one to turn away from a fight, even as a human- tried to bring her down.  Rosalie found him just as the bear was about to finish him off.  She carried him hundreds of miles back to Carlisle, but there was no way to save him.  So Rosalie asked Carlisle if she could keep him.”

 

“Just like that?”

 

“Just like that.  They’ve been nauseatingly inseparable ever since.  I suppose we’ll have to attend their wedding in a few years... _again._ ”

 

“And what about you?”

 

“What about me?”

 

“Have you ever…” I trailed off, suddenly losing my nerve.  “I mean, were you ever married?” I finished lamely.

 

She laughed.  “No, it’s not for me.  ‘Til’ death do we part’ is a _very_ big commitment for a vampire.”

 

I laughed with her to mask my embarrassment.  She of course could tell that something was on my mind.  She looked at me with the frustrated expression I was so used to seeing on her face.

 

“What are you thinking?”

 

“I was just wondering…” I trailed off again, and could see she was getting impatient.  I held up a finger to let her know I was planning to answer in a moment, and she seemed to relax.  “I was wondering if you had ever found anyone.  You know, how Carlisle has Esme and Alice has Jasper.  Don’t you...want that?”

 

She considered her answer for a second.  “Honestly, I’ve never really thought about it.  I never have felt that way about anyone in the past.  I suppose if I did meet someone I felt strongly about, I might consider a relationship.  But I’ve been around a long time, and met many different people both human and not, and no one has seemed to catch my attention.”  She was looking at me with her head cocked to one side, as if something had just occurred to her.  “You, on the other hand, seem to have caught the attention of one Tyler Crowley.”

 

I groaned, blushing scarlet.

 

“You never did tell me why you lied to him about being out of town today.”  She continued unrelenting.  She took a step toward me.  “If it’s because you can’t dance I’m sure I can get you some lessons.”

 

I laughed once, too loudly.  “No no, it’s not that.  I love to dance.  I miss it, actually.  I took ballet when I was little.”  I was rambling now, my voice getting shaky.  

 

“Then what is it?  And don’t tell me it’s nothing.  Your heart starts racing anytime someone asks you about the dance.  Even right now.  I can hear it.”

 

I gulped.  There was no way out of this.  I could lie, but I knew she would be able to tell.  Should I- _could_ I- just tell her the truth?  It hadn’t bothered Jacob...but Edie was from a different time.  A time long before the current level of tentative tolerance.  Even now there were still many people who hated people like me.  It was a risk to tell anyone.  And yet...when I looked at her I felt...safe.  

 

“I said no to Tyler because I could never be interested in him romantically and I didn’t think it would be fair to lead him on.”  The words came out in a rush, my hands were shaking and I couldn’t meet her eyes.

 

“Oh?” She said quietly.  “How do you know you wouldn’t be interested in him, unless you spent some time with him?”

 

“Because...because…” the words were right there, but I could not get them out.  Could I tell her the one thing I’d always kept a secret?  The one thing I had never willingly told anyone, ever?  But most importantly, could I tell her that I had finally found someone that I was willing to risk it all for?

 

I took a hesitant step toward her, just a fraction of an inch.  I took a deep breath, drawing every ounce of courage I could muster.  Another step forward.  She was so close now I could almost touch her.  I looked at her, and for the first time in my entire life I brought the truth up to the surface.  I let the feelings that had been building up inside of me all week show through in my eyes, where I knew she would be looking for answers.

 

When I looked at her, her amber eyes were bright and filled with questions.  It was now or never.

 

“The truth is, Edie, that someone _has_ caught my attention.  Someone enigmatic and fascinating and true.”  Before I knew what I was doing I took one last step and closed the distance between us.  I gently touched my hand to her face, tracing the line of her cheek with my thumb.

 

And an instant later she was gone.

 

She had backed away so quickly I hadn’t even registered her movement until she was through the double doors and grasping the rail of her balcony.  She stared at me, her eyes wild with panic.  I was trembling now, overcome with hurt and shame.  But then I saw the patch of sunlight that was hitting the railing right where Edie’s hand gripped it.

 

“Edie!  Your hand!”  I cried, all concerns about my rejection gone as I saw the pain register in her eyes.  She screamed and fell the ground, clutching her hand.

 

I ran to her, stopping just before touching her again.  “Are you alright?”

 

She held out her hand, which was smoking as angry red boils appeared all over the skin that had been touched by the light.  

 

“What can I do?” I asked her, an edge of panic creeping into my voice.  

 

“I just need a minute,” she told me through gritted teeth.  I sat with her while she waited for the pain to subside, wishing there was something I could do and also wanting desperately to ask her why she had reacted the way she did.  But I didn’t dare.  

 

And then, amazingly, her skin began to heal right in front of my eyes.  The burned flesh knitted itself back together, the charred skin fading back to white.  She held her hand in front of her face, turning it backward and forward.  It was as if nothing had ever happened.  

 

“Whoa,” I exclaimed.  “Does it hurt?”  I wanted to feel the skin for myself, to know that she was really fine.

 

“Not anymore,” she told me, her eyes no longer showing any trace of the fear from a moment ago.

 

“I’m sorry,” I told her, searching her face with my eyes.  “I shouldn’t have said anything.”

 

“Don’t be.” My eyes widened at her answer.  “I’m glad you did.”  Her eyes now held a new expression, one I had never expected to see on her face: the fear was still there, but now it was mixed with a strange uncertainty.  Strange because she was always so confident and sure of herself.  I didn’t know what to make of it.  “Bella,” her voice was a whisper now, and my heart stopped at the sound of my name on her lips.  We were inches apart again, our faces almost touching-

 

“What is going on up here?” a loud voice bellowed, and we sprang apart.

 

Emmett thundered into the room like a charging bull, Alice right behind him.

 

“We heard Edie scream,” Alice said, her voice full of concern for her sister.  

 

“I burned my hand,” Edie admitted sheepishly.

 

“Well that was stupid,” Emmett chided her, but his relief that it wasn’t something worse was evident.  

 

“What were you doing outside, anyway?”  Alice asked, her shrewd eyes narrowing.

 

“Just showing Bella the view.” Edie answered quickly.

 

“Whatever, it’s time to eat.”  Emmett told us.

 

“Eat?” I asked, surprised.  “But I thought-”

 

“No, not for us!”  Emmett’s laugh boomed out across the meadow below us.  “For you, Bella.”

 

I flinched a little when he clapped a huge hand on my shoulder and led me back inside.  Out of all the Cullens, he was definitely the most intimidating.  “For me?” I squeaked.  “You didn’t have to-” but my stomach betrayed me by grumbling quite loudly at that exact moment.  I could hear it even without vampire senses, and I flushed in embarrassment.  

 

Emmett laughed again, his levity unrestrained.  “E, didn’t you remember to feed her this morning?”  He joked, as if I were some sort of pet.  But rather than feeling offended, I warmed to his light-hearted banter.   

 

“You’re right, I’ve been horrendously neglectful.” Edie shot back.  “My apologies, dear Bella.  Please allow me to make amends by escorting you to the banquet hall.”  Her British accent was back, and this time she executed a low and sweeping bow.  “Right this way, madame.”  She extended her elbow, and I placed my hand gingerly inside the crook of her arm.  And then she winked at me, and all of my shame at voicing my deepest secret was gone in the flash of her eyes.

  


**_Edie_ **

 

Bella and I entered the dining room behind Emmett and Alice.  I hadn’t been too far off when I’d joked about a banquet hall.  Carlisle and Esme had filled the large dining table with every Italian dish imaginable.  Rosalie and Jasper were already seated, staring at the food with slightly disgusted expressions.

 

“This is too much!”  Bella exclaimed.  “I mean, you didn’t have to go to all this trouble just for me…”

 

“Nonsense.”  Carlisle told her.  “It gave us a reason to use the kitchen for the first time.”  He grinned as if cooking had been great fun.

 

“Thank you very much.”  Bella told him.

 

“Bella, won’t you come sit next to me?”  Rosalie beckoned to her.  Bella’s heart started pounding in my ears, and I felt her hand tense where it rested on my arm.  

 

 _I told you so,_ Rosalie thought to me smugly.   _She is quite besotted with me._

 

My stomach twisted violently.  I had the sudden urge to jump over the table and wring Rosalie’s neck.  What was wrong with me?  Rose and I had never been what anyone would call close, but neither had I felt so much animosity toward her.  I glared at her, but resisted responding to her silent taunting.  Instead I waited to see what Bella would do when pitted against Rosalie’s gift.  Of course, there was a chance that Bella did prefer Rosalie.  Most people did, after all.  Her beauty was renowned.  I felt my teeth dig sharply into my lower lip while I wished fervently that I could hear Bella’s thoughts.  

 

“Please, Bella.”  Rosalie asked again, turning the full force of her power of persuasion onto the girl standing next to me.  “I would so love to sit beside you.  Here, I saved you a seat.”  She pulled out the chair next to her and waited expectantly.

 

“No thank you, Rosalie.  I think Emmett has dibs.”  Bella answered.

 

Rosalie was aghast.  No one had ever refused one of her requests in all her life.  I tried to keep my lips from smiling and failed.  Rosalie’s enticing smile had turned into a vicious snarl, and Bella stepped closer to me.  

 

“Now now, Rose.”  Esme chimed in, always the peacemaker.  “Bella can sit wherever she’d like.  How about right here, at the head of the table?”  Bella nodded, swallowing loudly, and took the chair offered by Esme.  Her eyes never left Rosalie until Emmett walked around and sat at the corner chair in between them.  

 

“Don’t feel bad, Hon.”  Emmett told Rosalie jovially.  “This one’s immune, remember?  Hmm, I wonder...Hey Bella, after you eat do you wanna arm wrestle me?”

 

Bella looked bewildered now.  

 

“Maybe later, Em.”  I told him as I took the chair opposite him, hoping he would take the hint.  Alice sat to my right, next to Jasper, and Carlisle and Esme took their seats at the other end of the table.  It was the first time all eight chairs had been filled.  I liked it.

 

Bella looked famished as she tried dish after dish, only getting in one bite of each before Carlisle would suggest the next one.  He was watching her intently, as if he could taste the food right along with her.  Finally she had to refuse, saying she couldn’t possibly eat another bite.  

 

“What are you going to do with all of this?”  She asked him, sounding concerned.  

 

“There is a shelter in town,” Esme answered.  “I’m sure they’d be grateful to have extra.  We’ll be happy to run it over to them when the sun goes down.”  Bella nodded enthusiastically.

 

“Thank you, truly.”  Bella told them.  “Everything was delicious.”  Carlisle beamed under her praise.  I didn’t know why he was worried, everything he tried always worked out.

 

“What would you like to do next, Bella?”  I asked her.

 

“What else is there?”  She asked.  “I have a feeling I’ve only seen a fraction of this house.”

 

“There’s the gym.”  Emmett jumped in.  “We could race, or box, or swim.”  He looked like a kid wanting to show his new friend all of his toys.  

 

“Umm, thanks Emmett, but I’m not really very athletic.”  She answered diplomatically.  “What do you usually do when the sun is out?”

 

They all answered at the same time with different answers.  Bella laughed.  “Why don’t you just go on with your day as if I’m not here?  You don’t have to entertain me, I promise.  I’m having a good time just getting to know you all.”  She smiled genuinely at all of them, even Rosalie.  

 

I was getting antsy and started fidgeting.  I wanted to continue my conversation with Bella away from prying ears.  She had been about to tell me something important, until I screwed it all up.  It was just that when her skin touched my face I almost lost control for the first time since the day I met her.  The heat from her touch still warmed my cheek.  I hung my head in shame.  She couldn’t even touch me without putting herself in danger.  How could she even stand to be in the same room with me?  And yet here she was, sitting in the chair next to me.  She would never cease to amaze me.  

 

“Well there’s the art room, or the game room, or the entertainment room.”  Esme was telling Bella.

 

“Can I show her the lab?”  I interrupted, suddenly realizing the best place for us to have a conversation was the basement.

 

Esme and Carlisle shared a look.  “I’m not sure that’s the best idea.”  Carlisle told me, and I heard his thoughts behind his words: _We don’t want anyone to find out what we’ve created._

 

“I already told her that we developed a way to go outside during the day, she just doesn’t know the details.”  I admitted.  The table fell silent.  We had never disclosed our secret before.

 

“Well obviously we’ve been going to school most days.  She must have realized we had found a way to do it.”  Alice chimed in.  I shot her a grateful glance.

 

“I don’t see why not, just be very careful.”  Esme told me.  “Please don’t disturb anything.”

 

“We won’t,” I grinned.  “I promise.”

 

I led Bella swiftly away from the dining room.  She looked as relieved as I felt to be away from the scrutiny of my family.  

 

“What did Emmett mean earlier?”  She started in with the questions immediately.  “When he said I was immune?  Immune to what?”

 

“Well, you know how I can read everyone’s mind except for yours?”  She nodded.  “It is the same for everyone else’s gifts.  Alice can’t see your future, Rosalie’s persuasion doesn’t affect you.  I’m assuming Jasper would not be able to influence your mood either.”

 

“And Emmett?”  She asked.

 

I laughed.  “That’s why he asked you to arm wrestle him.  His gift is his strength.”

 

She gulped.  “I somehow think I would still lose that one.”

 

“You’re probably right.” I acknowledged.

 

“What about Esme?”

 

“Her gift doesn’t really work on people so much.  She can manipulate molecular structures. That’s how she was able to develop our special sunblock.  Let me show you.”  We had arrived at the door to the basement, a thick steel door hidden behind a huge hanging tapestry.  I pushed the tapestry aside and unlocked the door.  It opened inward with a hiss of air pressure being released.  

 

We walked down the concrete steps into the darkness.  Bella stumbled behind me, and without thinking I reached out to steady her.  The instant my skin touched hers, electric heat raced up my arm.  I pulled my hand back quickly, fighting down the bloodlust.  But to my surprise, Bella took my hand back into hers.  I froze, waiting for the monster inside me to recede into the background again.  When I regained control only a few seconds had passed and I resumed walking down the stairs, now guiding Bella by the hand.  As we descended into the darkness she began to shiver, and I realized she must be cold.  

 

“I’m sorry I don’t have a jacket to offer you this time,” I told her.

 

“It’s okay I’m fine,” she answered, though her teeth started to chatter.

 

We reached the basement and I switched on the light for Bella’s benefit.  She gasped, staring all around her at the vast underground laboratory.  It stretched out in all directions well beyond the walls of the house above.  There were projects in various stages of completion stationed throughout the room.  Bella wandered through them, inspecting them with interest but not touching anything.  

 

“What is this?”  She asked, pointing to a stack of sheets of glass.

 

“Esme has altered the glass so that it repels UV rays while still letting in light.  That is how we are able to live above ground during the day.”  I walked around the glass to show her the work currently in progress.  “Now she’s working on a windshield for our vehicles.”  

 

Bella gazed at the glass in wonder.  “Incredible.”

 

“Look at this,” I took her hand once more, thrilling at how much easier it got each time.  I led her through the workstations to a corner in the back.  Here there were shelves and shelves of jars filled with a thick creamy substance.  I picked one up and unscrewed the lid to show it to her.  “Sunscreen for vamps,” I told her, grinning.  She smiled back, then took my left hand in both of hers.  I froze again, this time not to fight for control but to wait and see what she was going to do.  She dipped a finger into the lotion and touched it to the back of my hand, where I had been burned.  Her finger moved in circles, rubbing the cream into my skin.

 

“Is this okay?” She asked.

 

“Yes,” I whispered, not daring to move.  “You can’t imagine how that feels.”

 

“Is it helping the burn?”  She asked.

 

“No, that’s already healed.  I meant…”  What _did_ I mean?  There were feelings inside of me that I didn’t understand, things that had been dormant for two hundred years.  Being around Bella was strange.  She made me feel uneasy, but at the same time exhilarated.  Almost overnight, this girl had become the center of my entire world.  And now, with her touch on my hand, I felt almost... _human_.  “Bella,” I began again, trying to organize my wildly spinning thoughts, “what were you about to say earlier, before I behaved so rudely?”

 

She frowned, a crease forming in between her eyebrows.  She ducked her head, not meeting my eyes.  The frustration was overwhelming.  Looking into her eyes was the closest I ever came to hearing her thoughts.  It was infuriating to be denied that.  I couldn’t stand it, so I very gently, very carefully placed my hand under her chin and tilted her face back toward me.  “How easily frustrated I am,” I explained.  “Please, tell me what you’re thinking.” I pleaded with her.

 

“I was thinking that I was too forward earlier, when I touched your face.”  Her eyes were guarded now, afraid.  “I didn’t mean to offend you.  I hope,” Her voice caught, and she worried her lower lip with her teeth.  The movement caught my eye, and I suddenly wanted to smooth her lip with my thumb and feel its full softness for myself.  I shook my head to clear it of such thoughts.  Thoughts like that were dangerous.  “I hope we can still be friends.” Bella continued.  “But I would understand if you feel uncomfortable around me now.”  She looked crestfallen.

 

“Uncomfortable,” I repeated, turning the word over in my mind.  “That’s one way of looking at it.”  The fear in her eyes spilled over, and they glistened now with tears.  I then realized my gaff, a second too late.  “No! That’s not what I meant!”  I had never had so much trouble expressing myself.  “Let me explain.”  I paused to carefully consider my words this time.  “It is uncomfortable to be around you because of the way you smell.”  Her finger stopped circling my skin and she looked embarrassed.  “Not that you smell bad or anything!”  I just kept digging myself in deeper.  “It’s like this: You know how everyone has a favorite flavor?”  She nodded, looking perplexed.  “Well, your blood, for reasons unknown, is the most potent flavor I’ve ever encountered.  Imagine you had been on a deserted island for two hundred years eating nothing but fruit, and then finally you are rescued and they place in front of you a perfectly seasoned and cooked to perfection filet mignon.”

 

“So, I’m the filet?” She asked, catching on.

 

“Yes.  I’m sorry for the food analogy, but it’s the way my mind works.  Although, it’s not quite strong enough to describe how I felt.  For us, feeding is more than just nourishment.  It is everything- the hunt, the chase, the kill.  It is what we are built for, what we crave.  It is the one desire that drives us.  So you can imagine how difficult it was for me when you sat beside me in biology that day.  I thought you were a demon sent to tempt me away from my chosen lifestyle.”  I smiled at the absurdity of the notion.  Though I still longed to know _why_.  Why did she smell so incredibly enticing?

 

“That explains why you looked so angry!  And I thought you were mad at me for bumping into Jasper.”

 

“Oh, I had nearly forgotten about that!  It seems like you’ve been marked for death since the moment you arrived.  Jasper isn’t anywhere near ready for human contact yet.”

 

“And yet somehow, both of you resisted.”  She pointed out.

 

“Yes, we did.  Somehow…” I murmured.  

 

“Is it difficult for you now?”  She asked me.

 

“Yes.  You smell just as delicious as that first day.”  I winked at her wickedly.  “You are very lucky I have had so many years of practice.  Otherwise, touching my face the way you did earlier might have been the last thing you did.”  Bella’s face went white, and she shuddered.  She was starting to understand.  

 

“I’m sorry,” she whispered.  “I didn’t realize…”

 

“I can’t be sure yet, but it seems as if being near you all day has helped me get used to your scent.  It won’t be as difficult the next time.”

 

“The next time?” Was there a note of hopefulness in her voice?

 

“Just do me a favor.”

 

“What is it?”

 

“Try not to surprise me next time?”

 

She smiled now.  “I promise.”

 

“Thank you,” I smiled back.  And then I did something neither of us was expecting.  I let my hand reach toward her to brush back a lock of hair from her eyes.  I let my fingertips graze the soft skin of her cheek.  I let my palm rest along her jawline, absorbing the heat from her skin.  She was holding her breath, and then suddenly let it out in a whoosh.  The warmth of her breath caressed the inside of my wrist.

 

“Ahh.”  I closed my eyes, relishing the feeling.  Everything with Bella was new and ephemeral.  I tried to grasp each moment before it disappeared forever.  “That’s incredible, the warmth.”

 

“Are you always cold?”

 

“It doesn’t feel that way.  I don’t even notice it until I touch something warm.  You are very warm.”

 

As if to prove me right, a blush rose up to her cheeks as I spoke, warming her skin even further.  My eyes focused on the blood swirling beneath her skin, and I felt the blood vessels in them burn.  My vision was about to turn red, so I squeezed them shut and tried to recite the Declaration of Independence from memory.  

 

It worked.  The burning in my eyes faded and I could concentrate again.  I opened my eyes, grinning with triumph, but all of this had happened so quickly that Bella wouldn’t even realize something was amiss.

 

“What just happened?”  She asked me.  I was wrong, she had realized something was off.  This girl missed nothing.  

 

“Another battle won,” I told her, still grinning.  “We’ll see who wins this war.”

 

She shook her head, confused.

 

“Watch this,” I told her, my continued success making me bold.  Her right hand still rested on top of my left, where she had placed the sunscreen.  I lifted my hand with hers, lifted her wrist to my lips, and breathed her in.

 

Her scent was still fire in my lungs and desire in my throat.  But this time I wanted to burn.

 

I let the heat scorch through me, warming me from the inside and quickening my blood, thinking I have never felt more alive.


	15. Declarations

 

**_Bella_ **

 

Edie’s eyes never left mine as she lifted my hand slowly to her lips.  Her chest rose as she inhaled deeply; mine burned as I held my breath.  I kept myself as still as possible, not wanting to surprise her again but mostly not wanting this moment to end.  

 

After what felt like ages she lowered my arm and I relaxed.  My breath went out in a rush and I had to gasp as my head spun.

 

“Easy there.” Now that I knew more about where she had come from, I was able to pick up the subtle English lilt underneath her near perfect articulation.  She held onto my hand, keeping me steady on my feet.

 

“I...I think I forgot to breathe.”  I admitted.

 

She frowned.  “Is that something you have to think about often?”  She asked curiously.

 

“Not usually.  But sometimes when I’m around you, yes.  That reminds me,” I said, as another question popped into my mind.  “I thought you couldn’t breathe, but just now…”

 

“We don’t have to breathe to survive.  No circulation, you see.  But breath is required for speaking and of course for our sense of smell.”

 

“How is it that you were able to do that now, when before it was too much for you?” I gestured to her hand on my wrist.

 

“Mind over matter.” She grinned.  “I have been working on a theory, that prolonged exposure to your scent will desensitize me to it.”

 

“And has it?”

 

“It won’t be so difficult for me again.” She answered confidently.

 

“But you didn’t know for sure,” I realized aloud.  “You were testing yourself.”

 

“I would not have invited you here if I felt you would be in danger.”

 

“Why does it matter to you?  Why have you been fighting so hard to keep me alive?”

 

“I didn’t, at first.” She looked away now.  She was ashamed, I realized.  “My initial thought was for my family.  I didn’t want to ruin what Carlisle has built here.  So I planned to lure you away from school so that I would not expose us.  I was elated when I realized that Alice could not see your future.  It left me free to go after you without repercussions.”

 

Now it was even harder for me to breathe.  But as always, the questions invaded my mind, cutting through the fear of what might have happened.  “How is it that Alice can see the future?”

 

“None of us know how our gifts came to be.  Carlisle suspects that our strengths as humans get magnified after we are turned.  For example, in my case as a human I was already receptive to other people’s thoughts and could guess what they were thinking even without hearing them.”  I nodded.  That would explain a lot.  “But Alice doesn’t remember anything from her human life.”

 

This stunned me.  “Nothing?”

 

“She has no idea who turned her or why.  She woke up alone in an asylum in New Orleans.”

 

“Wow,” was all I could manage to say.  I tried to imagine what that must be like, awaking as a new vampire in a strange place.  It was too bizarre to wrap my mind around.  “But you still haven’t answered my question,” I prompted her, “why have you been trying so hard to keep my alive?”

 

“You mean aside from respect for all human life?”

 

I rolled my eyes.  “I know it’s more than that.  Tell me, please.”

 

She looked at me searchingly, then seemed to come to a decision.  “Since I met you,” she began, “everything in my life has changed.  You don’t know what that is like for someone who is immortal.  After so many years of life, everything starts to lose meaning.”  She gazed off into the distance.  “People you once knew are gone.  The cities you lived in, changed.  It becomes harder and harder to adapt as the years pass.  Everything blurs together into monotony.  Even being with my family had become routine, though they are still the most important thing in my life no matter what.”  She turned back to me and her eyes were piercing.

 

“But then I met you.  The mystery of your blood and why it should tempt me more than any other human’s engrossed me.  And then to complicate things, I couldn’t read your thoughts to find out if you were something different, a threat perhaps.  It was maddening, and also captivating.  It still is.”

 

“Nothing like an unsolved mystery to keep you up at night,” I grinned, remembering the many sleepless nights I’d spent contemplating the mystery of Edie.

 

“And so to answer your question in my lengthy fashion, you have brought renewed interest to my life.  I have only known you a short while, and yet you have surprised me at every turn.  Your acceptance of me, of my family and what we are, astounds me.  You are wonderfully exceptional, Bella.  I can’t-”  She stopped suddenly, trying to find the right words.  “I can’t imagine my life without you now.”  Her eyes burned with intensity. Was it possible that this incredible person standing in front of me really was, as she said, enthralled by me?  I had to know for sure.

 

“Is that what this is about?  Solving a mystery?” I asked tentatively, scared of the answer.

 

Her eyes softened.  “At first.”  She answered.  Then she took both of my hands in hers.  “But then I started to get to know you, and I discovered that you are extraordinary.”  My heart started beating faster.  I squeezed my eyes shut, convinced that when I opened them she would be gone and all of this would have been a dream.  A surreal and sometimes frightening, wonderful dream.  But when I opened them again she was still there.  One of her curls had come loose from the braid she’d twisted her hair into this morning when she picked me up. I moved slowly and very carefully, so that she could see my every movement before I made it, and smoothed the lock back into place.  Then I left my hand there, resting on the side of her neck below her ear.  Touching her helped assure my mind that she was in fact very real.

 

She lifted her hand and entwined it with mine.  “May I ask a question now?” She asked playfully.  

 

“That _was_ a question.” I teased her.  It reminded me of our morning discussions on the way to school, and I could tell by her smile that she was remembering them as well.

 

“Two questions, then.”  

 

“Alright, yes you may.”

 

“What were you about to tell me earlier, when I...when I ran away from you?”

 

Fear spiked through my veins, and I wondered if she could tell.  I wondered if that made being near me even more difficult for her.  I wondered how long she would let me stall before answering her question.

 

Knowing her tendency toward impatience, I assumed not long.  I took a steadying breath.  “I was telling you that someone had caught my attention.  Someone other than Tyler Crowley.”

 

“Who is it?” she whispered, and the unusual uncertainty from earlier was back in her voice. She really didn’t know.

 

“You, of course.”  I told her without hesitation.  Her eyes widened in genuine surprise.  Had she really not had any idea of my feelings for her?  But then it occurred to me that maybe she didn’t think that way.  Maybe she only saw me as a friend, or a person of interest, or a tasty snack.  “I understand if you don’t feel the same way,” I told her hastily.

 

“I don’t know what I feel,” she answered honestly.  “When I’m around you, everything is confusing.  My entire life has only been about one thing: controlling my bloodlust.  There has never been room for anything else.”  She lowered her voice.  “I don’t really remember being human, but lately I have felt more human than I ever have before.  Does that make sense?”

 

“I think so,” I answered, though I wasn’t entirely sure. If she meant that she was just as overwrought with emotions as I was, then I definitely understood.

 

We stood there in silence for an interminable moment, hand in hand and looking into each other’s eyes, both trying in vain to read the other’s thoughts.  Her thumb traced light circles over the top of my hand, and I shivered as her touch sent jolts of electricity through me.

 

She misunderstood.

 

“Oh, you’re getting cold.” Her brow furrowed with worry.  “We should head back upstairs.”

 

I wanted to protest, but couldn’t think of a reason to prolong our time here.  Still holding my hand in hers, we walked back to the concrete stairs in the center of the lab.

 

“What does your family think of me?”  I couldn’t help but ask.  I didn’t get the impression that they invited many human guests over.  I wondered why they had made an exception for me.

 

“My parents are thrilled that I’ve taken an interest in you.  They say you are bringing me back to my humanity.” She laughed, suddenly and with abandon.  “I must say, I am starting to agree with them.”  She turned the full force of her radiant smile on me and I felt my knees turn to jelly.  “Alice is just as curious as I am about why you are immune to our talents.  Jasper sees you as an excellent challenge to test his control.  Emmett thinks I’m touched in the head.  He, out of all of us, truly loves his immortality.  He can’t imagine how a mere mortal could possibly hold my interest.”  She used heavy sarcasm to let me know how little stock she placed in Emmett’s assessment.

 

“And Rosalie?”  I had to ask.

 

Edie’s smile broadened.  “Rose positively loathes not getting her way.  She was convinced that you were in love with her.  And then you shot her down!”  Edie crowed, delighted.

 

“But how did she know?”  I was mortified.  Was I that obvious to everyone?  Had I been fooling myself into thinking I was being discreet?  

 

“We all have supernatural hearing, lass.  She could hear your heart pounding from across the room.  We all could.  Besides, part of Rose’s talent is perceiving and influencing romantic affections.  Even if you are immune, she is practiced enough to notice when you noticed her.”

 

My face burned hot with shame.  I couldn’t believe I had deceived myself into thinking I could hide my proclivities.  Why did I ever come to Forks?  More people here had found out about me in one month than in my entire life in Phoenix.  I was halfway through my plan to escape back to the anonymity of home when Evie turned my face to look at her.

 

Her eyes made me forget all about feeling ashamed.  What was I thinking?  I didn’t want to be anywhere other than right here, looking at the most beautiful person I had ever met.  

 

“Are you okay Bella?” She asked me, concerned.

 

“I don’t know.  I’m not used to my life being so open.  It’s…scary.  Do you know what it’s like, feeling like you can never fully be yourself because people will hate you for it?”

 

“Putting on a front so that no one ever gets close enough to find out the truth?  Yeah, I think I know a little bit about that.”  She grinned at me, and I smacked my forehead with my palm.  Of _course_ she knew what I was talking about!  She and her family had been hiding their true selves for centuries.  My problems suddenly felt small in comparison.

 

We reached the top of the stairs and she bolted the door behind us, letting the heavy tapestry fall back into place in front of the door.  The house was quiet; the sun had finally set.  I imagined that the Cullens had gleefully escaped the confines of their home now that the deadly light was gone.

 

“I should get you home.”  Edie told me, and my heart sank.  I wasn’t ready to leave her, even for a night.  My plan for a quiet Sunday at home tomorrow suddenly loomed oppressively.  

 

“Leaving already?”  I jumped when Alice popped up out of nowhere behind me.  “I didn’t even get a chance to visit with Bella.”  She sounded unduly disappointed about this.  

 

“You can catch up with her next time Alice.”  Edie told her harshly.

 

“I’m sorry Alice,” I told her, not wanting to get off on the wrong foot with her.  “Maybe we can get together another time?”  Edie was pulling me away from her as I spoke, and I wondered why.

 

“Bye Alice!”

 

“Don’t forget about the storm tomorrow Edie!”  Alice called after us, sounding worried.  Edie slammed the garage door behind us.

 

“Hey E!  Bella!”  Emmett stood holding up the front end of Rosalie’s convertible while she tinkered underneath it.  “Alice says there’s a thunderstorm tomorrow.  Perfect time for a game!”

 

“Not this time, Emmett, remember?”  Edie snapped at him.  I was starting to really wonder what was going on.

 

“Oh, yeah that’s right.”  He frowned.  “But we haven’t played in forever!  What’s the worst that could happen?”

 

And then Edie _growled_ at him, a low guttural animal sound that made the hair on the back of my neck stand up.  

 

“Alright alright, sorry I brought it up!”  Emmett backed off.  “See you kids later, then.”  He told us, and Edie ushered me hastily into the passenger seat of her Corvette.

 

“Okay, what was that all about?” I rounded on her as soon as the car doors were closed.  She pressed her lips together and pretended to be focusing on backing the car carefully out of the garage.  

 

“I don’t want to worry you.”  She finally told me.

 

“Well, consider me worried.  You practically bit Emmett’s head off back there!”

 

“It’s nothing really.  Alice just had a vision of a thunderstorm tomorrow.”

 

I crossed my arms, raised my eyebrows and glared at her.  She was not getting off that easily.  “Will you just tell me so that I can properly freak out about whatever it is?” I demanded.

 

“Fine.”  She snapped.  “Alice saw that visitors are coming during a thunderstorm.  Three unknown vampires.”

 

“Is that all?”

 

“Remember what I told you, about how your blood smells better than everyone else’s?”

 

I nodded slowly, starting to feel real fear creeping in.

 

“These visitors are not like us.  Alice saw them catch your scent, and then her vision disappeared.”

 

“She can’t see my future,” I whispered.  “So she can’t see what happens after they find me!”  The fear was turning into panic.

 

“But we’ll have a plan.  If you stay with us again tomorrow, you’ll be safe.  They wouldn’t dare challenge us, it would be seven against three.”  She didn’t quite sound convinced.

 

“You don’t know that for sure.” I guessed.  “Because Alice can’t see what will happen either way.”

 

Her silence confirmed my statement.  She pulled the car into the driveway.  Charlie’s truck was still gone, he wasn’t back from his fishing trip yet.

 

“So why take me home tonight?  What if they are already here?”  I asked, trying to keep the hysteria out of my voice.

 

“Alice sees them arrive tomorrow during the storm.  That hasn’t changed.”

 

I still felt uneasy, but this she sounded sure about.  “So that means I will spend the day with you again tomorrow?”  At least there was one bright side.

 

“Only if you want to.”  She said softly.  I remembered that she was still waiting for me to run away from her, screaming in horror.  I wished she could see that that was now impossible.  

 

“Yes, I would like that.”  I still hadn’t opened the car door.  I wasn’t ready to return to normality yet.  Then I had an idea.  “Do you want to come in for a while?”  I asked her spontaneously.

 

Her eyes widened in surprise, but she nodded.  She turned off the engine and together we walked to my front door.

  


**_Edie_ **

 

“Do I have to formally invite you in or anything?” Bella asked me as she unlocked the door.  

 

I laughed.  “Superstition, invented to make people feel safe indoors.  Same as the crucifix.  People like to feel as if they have a chance against the demons.”  My voice was bitter as I remembered the few times we had been hunted.

 

“Is there a way? To stand a chance I mean.”  She asked me, still worried about the visitors coming tomorrow.  

 

“You’ll be with us, you won’t have to worry.”  I promised her.  I would do whatever it took to keep her safe.  

 

She led me inside their small home, and I took in the details around me, filling in gaps of Bella’s past that I knew nothing about.  I saw her father’s well-worn leather chair in front of a new television set, and behind it a blackened fireplace with a line of pictures along the mantle.  They were pictures of Bella, from the time she was born until very recently.  I studied them, starting from the first one of her as a tiny baby and following as she grew older.  Bella at a ballet recital, Bella sitting in front of an upright piano, Bella in the gleaming sunshine.  Bella and a woman who could only be her mother beaming at the camera.  This separation must be eating away at her more than she was letting on.  

 

She cleared her throat, breaking me out of my thoughts.  She was standing in a small kitchen with bright yellow cabinets.  “Can I get you anything?”  She asked uncertainly.

 

“No, thank you.”  I smiled at her polite concern.  

 

“Okay.”  She rummaged around in the cabinets until she found a glass and filled it with water. She gulped it down nervously.  Still scared about tomorrow, most likely.  I sat down in one of the wooden chairs around the kitchen table.  She stood leaning against the counter and staring at me.

 

“What is it?”  I asked, suddenly feeling unnerved under the weight of her gaze.

 

“It’s just surreal, seeing you here in my kitchen.”

 

“Oh?  Haven’t you ever brought a girl home before?”  I teased her, waiting for the explosive reaction I was sure to get.

 

She didn’t disappoint.  “No!”  She exclaimed, turning scarlet.  “I don’t...I can’t…” She stammered.

 

“What are you so afraid of?”  I asked her gently.

 

She looked down at the floor while she considered my question.  “What if...what if they won’t love me anymore?”  Her lower lip trembled.

 

“You should give them a chance,” I told her.  “People have a way of surprising you.  Trust me, I’ve seen it all.”

 

She looked up at me then, tears glistening on her cheeks.  I rose from my chair, wanting to run to her but keeping my pace at a slow, human speed.  I stood facing her and took her face gently in both of my hands.  With my thumbs, I smoothed the tears away.  Her liquid brown eyes were full of vulnerability and a deep-seated fear.  I longed to pull her out of that fear, but had no idea how.  I knew better than anyone the atrocities human beings could inflict on one another.  How could I assure her that her parents would accept her for who she is?

 

“Oh Bella,” I sighed.  “No one could ever stop loving you.”  I knew this without a doubt, I just hoped she would hear me.  It seemed to have worked.  She was looking at me with so much trust and wonder that it was almost painful.  How could I ever be deserving of her affection?

 

The moment was broken when I heard the roar of an old truck engine turning onto Bella’s street.

 

“Charlie is almost home.  I’ll go move my car.” I strode swiftly to the door.

 

“Edie! Wait!”  She called after me, whispering even though her father wasn’t home yet.

 

“Don’t worry,” I told her, grinning.  “I’m not leaving you yet.”  I winked and went out the door.

 

I drove the ‘vette around the corner and parked it out of sight.  Then I hid in the forest behind her house, where I had previously watched her comings and goings.  But this time I knew she wanted me here.  The thought sent hope flowing through me, hope that perhaps I wasn’t doomed to walk this earth alone forever.  For the first time in my life, someone wanted me in theirs.  

 

While I sat waiting for Bella to speak with her father, I contemplated the concept of attraction.  It was an impossible dilemma, because I was already attracted to her in the worst way.  Her blood called to me even now, at this distance.  But beneath that, something else was stirring inside of me.  A hunger I had never felt before, that had nothing to do with blood.  I felt it every time I looked at her, like something much larger than a butterfly was lodged in the pit of my stomach fighting to break free.  

 

For the first time in my immortal existence, I longed with every fiber of my being to be human again.  If I were human, I could be with her without risking her life every moment we were together.  It was madness for me even to be here.  But I knew I could not stay away.  I would just have to be strong enough to keep the monster inside me in check.  I would stay strong enough, for her.

 

Finally I heard her bid her father good night and climb up the stairs to her bedroom.  I ran to the house and stood beneath her window.  Would she invite me in again, or had the short time away from me brought her back to her senses?  I heard her walk across the room and stop at the window.  She tugged it open and it screeched in protest.  She froze, straining her human ears to see if her father might have heard the window.  She needn’t have worried, he was already absorbed in the television.

 

“Edie?” She called out to me.  I felt a thrill every time I heard her say my name aloud.  

 

“I’m here,” I called back quietly.  “May I come up?”

 

“How?”  She asked, and I chuckled.  I scaled the wall easily using the small cracks in between the side panels to propel myself upwards.  She gasped when I suddenly appeared in front of her.

 

“Sorry,” I said, though I wasn’t really.  “It’s too easy to be myself around you.”

 

She smiled then.  “I don’t mind.”  

 

“Good.” I grinned back at her and climbed swiftly in through the window.  Her bedroom was cluttered and colorful, with blue walls and purple accents.  The bookshelf was overflowing, and there were books stacked in piles on every surface as well as on the floor.  

 

“Sorry about the mess,” she said sheepishly.

 

“Don’t be, I love it.” I told her as I read through the titles of her books.  “It’s very...you.”

 

She smiled again, blushing this time.  The short time apart had made her scent stronger to me again, and when her face flushed with blood I almost lost it.  She seemed to notice my discomfort and her eyes softened, as if she were actually filled with compassion for my suffering.   But I very quickly regained control.  It _was_ getting easier each time, I was happy to note.  

 

“Can I have a minute to be human?”  She asked.

 

“Of course.”

 

“Just...wait here?”  She was uncertain.

 

“Don’t worry about Charlie,” I tapped the side of my head.  “If I hear him coming I can disappear.”

 

“Okay...good...right...I’ll be right back.”  She was flustered and erratic as she grabbed items out of her closet.  I hoped it was nerves rather than fear.  I heard her close the bathroom door and turn on the shower.  I also heard her dial her cell phone.  She must think I wouldn’t be able to hear her over the water.  Who could she be calling, and why?  I was instantly and irrationally jealous.  Who did she want to talk to instead of me?  And why didn’t she want me to overhear their conversation?

 

I did something abominable then:  I eavesdropped on her call.

 

“Jake!” She whispered.  Ah, so it was Jacob Black she needed to speak with.  The jealousy receded, replaced by an intense curiosity that burned hotter than the bloodlust from a moment ago.  I wished I could hear the other side of their conversation.

 

“Yes, I’m fine….no! They were wonderful...uh huh....well, I’m not sure...no because _she’s here_!...shut up!...yeah I know...yeah...seriously...ok...definitely….see you then...bye.”

 

I pondered her half of the conversation while she showered.  He must have asked her to call him when she made it home this evening.  That was good.  Someone was looking out for her.  The wonderful part must have been referring to my family.  Couldn’t argue with her there.  If there was one thing I’d been lucky in in life, it was the family I had chosen to spend eternity with.  The rest was ambiguous.  Should I ask her about it, and thus reveal that I had infringed upon her privacy?

 

She emerged from her bathroom wearing a cotton t-shirt and sweatpants.  Her skin was rosy from the steam of the shower, and she smelled like fresh strawberries.  She pulled her damp hair back from her face and wrapped a rubber band around it.  No one had ever looked more beautiful in all of time.  

I sat down on her bed and patted the space next to me.  She hesitated, and the curiosity burned anew.   _What was she thinking?_

 

“So, how’s Jacob?” I asked, deciding to risk her ire if it would get her talking.  Her mouth opened and closed a few times but no words came out.  Her eyes, however, illustrated her anger quite well.  I grinned, leaning back onto her pillows.  “For future reference, water doesn’t affect my hearing.”

 

“Duly noted,” she spat, and flopped onto the bed next to me.  “I do hope you realize how completely infuriating you are.”

 

“I’m well aware.”  

 

She glared at me, and I stared right back, unrelenting.  The silence deepened between us, and changed.  Her eyes widened and her pupils dilated.  Her breath quickened and her pulse raced.  The electricity that I felt so often in her presence began to charge the atmosphere around us.  The pulsing current made me feel as if I almost had a heartbeat again, as if I were human again.  The dormant desire that had been quietly building inside of me now came rushing to the surface, stronger than the bloodlust if only for a moment.  But in that moment what I wanted more than anything in the world was to feel the heat of her lips against mine.  

 

“Don’t move,” I told her, my voice barely above a whisper.  “I need you to keep perfectly still.”

 

“Edie, what-”

 

“Shh.”  I pressed my finger to her lips to silence her before I lost my nerve.  They were warm and soft, just as I’d imagined.  Then I took my thumb and traced her lower lip, as I had wanted to earlier today.  Her lips parted at my touch, her breath warming my hand.  

 

I leaned in closer to her, hesitantly, waiting for the beast inside to claw its way through my self control.  Closer still, waiting.  

 

And then my lips met hers.  The warmth of her body flowed through me like molten lava, heating every inch of me as our lips moved together.  She pressed herself closer, her hands tangling in my hair.  Blood boiled under my skin and burned in my lips, and the monster roared to life.

 

I pushed myself back, a wild gasp tearing from my throat.  My vision was turning red, and I could feel my eyes swelling as blood filled the veins around them.  My fangs slid down into place and venom welled in my mouth.  My muscles tensed, ready to spring.  I tried to turn and run, but Bella had locked her arms around my neck.  If I broke free of her grip I would break both of her wrists.  But if I stayed...my eyes focused in on her neck, where her jugular vein pulsed fast and unbearably close.  I imagined how her blood would taste in my mouth, hot and sweet…

 

“Edie!”  Bella’s voice cut through the red haze, quiet but sharp.  “Edie, look at me!”

 

And so I did.  I looked into her dark eyes, full of compassion rather than terror.  I imagined what I must look like to Bella- eyes black as pitch and red-rimmed, protruding fangs dripping with venom.  Yet still she did not run from me.  Was she insane, or just suicidal?  Another image was creeping into my mind now.  I saw Bella pale and cold, drained of blood.  This image sent a stabbing pain through my chest and I felt as if my ribcage was closing in on itself.  The pain was acute, fierce enough to clear my mind fully.  And then, as I looked deeper into her eyes the impossible happened: the monster disappeared.  I felt no trace of the all-consuming thirst, not even a small vestige of my earlier voracity.  

 

She placed both hands on either side of my face and very gently smoothed my eyelids closed.  The distended veins beneath my eyes cooled and diminished, my fangs receded.  The fear I had felt, when I was about to take her life, turned now to shame.  I jerked my head out of her hands and turned away from her.

 

“Edie, stop.”  I felt her hand under my chin, turning my face back toward her.  I marveled that she could stand to sit beside me, let alone touch me.  “Come back.”  She pleaded.  “I want to know you.  This is who you are.”  Her eyes were full of earnest concern.

 

“I don’t know who I am.”  I admitted.  “I have spent all of my years fighting against my true nature, but never once did I wish to trade my immortality.  Until now.  Bella, what can I offer you if I can’t even touch you?  I don’t remember what it was like to be human, but I would give anything to be human for you.”

 

The pain in her eyes was devastating.  “You don’t have to change yourself for me.”  She said, her voice shaking.  “I want _you_.  All of you.  We can make this work.”

 

I made a sound that was half choking laughter and half agonized cry.  I wanted to believe her, wanted to so badly it was causing me physical pain.  But I wouldn’t risk her life for my happiness.

 

“Let me try again.”  She begged.  “Please, just trust me?”  Her dark eyes trapped and held me; I couldn’t refuse her anything.  I nodded once, frozen with fear.

 

“I’ll be on my best behavior,” she promised.  “Look, no hands!”  She crossed her arms behind her back, smiling seductively.  I was undone, all resistance shattered.

 

She kept her eyes on me as she leaned forward.  I didn’t dare move.

 

She pressed her lips against mine, careful not to let any other part of her touch me.  This time the heat burned slowly, beginning with my lips and making its way through my body leaving a tingling sensation as it went.  She was cautious at first, but when she felt me relax she moved her lips over mine with increasing urgency.  Still without touching, we kissed until I felt I would die if I didn’t touch her soon.

 

I broke away, and this time it was she who gasped aloud.  Her face was dazzling, with flushed cheeks and bright eyes filled with a hunger that tightened the muscles in the pit of my stomach.  I was thrilled to note that that was the only sensation I was feeling: there was no sign of the monster.

 

“Did I do something wrong again?” she asked as she struggled to catch her breath.

 

“Quite the opposite,” I murmured.  “You’re driving me crazy.”

 

She considered this briefly, then her face split into a triumphant grin.

 

“I am?”  She sounded incredibly pleased with herself.

 

“What do you want, a round of applause?”  I couldn’t help teasing her.

 

She pouted.  “I just wasn’t sure, you know, if I would be good at this.  Unlike you, I haven’t had a couple of centuries to work on my technique.”

 

“I’ll have you know, I did have many ways of spending my time, none of which involved kissing.”

 

That brought her up short.  “Wait, you mean... _never_?”

 

“Of course not!  You saw what just happened.  If I had tried that with anyone else…”  I couldn’t bear the thought.

 

“Not even another vampire?”  She was incredulous.

 

I thought about the other vampires I’d met in my travels, and shuddered.  “Never.”

 

“Wow.”  I couldn’t tell if she looked relieved or concerned.

 

“What about you?”  I had to ask.

 

She looked down, fidgeting with the bottom of her shirt.  “Well, there was this once…”

 

“And?”  I prompted, burning with curiosity.  I wondered if I would ever get accustomed to not hearing her thoughts, or if the curiosity would burn hotter until I finally combusted.  

 

“It was the summer before freshman year.  One kiss.  Nothing else happened.”  Her face was beet red now.  Then she looked up at me.  “And it was nothing compared to tonight.”

 

We stared at each other for a long moment.  Then she stifled a yawn, and I yawned involuntarily in response.  We laughed together in whispers, feeling giddy.  

 

“Will you stay with me tonight?”  She asked.

 

“Yes.” I conceded.  “But I will have to leave before dawn.  It will be sunny again tomorrow, but just in the morning.”  She frowned.  She didn’t want me to leave any more than I wanted to.

 

“Can’t I come with you tomorrow, like I did today?”

 

“Trust me, the last thing I want to do right now is leave.  But my family and I have to strategize.”

 

“Oh, the vampires!”  She gasped, her fear suddenly returning.  

 

“Don’t worry, they can’t travel during the day.  We have plenty of time to come up with a plan.  You will be safe with us.  I’ll come pick you up as soon as the storm comes in.”  I smoothed the crease between her eyebrows with my thumb.  She nodded, relaxing a bit, her eyelids heavy.

 

I laced my fingers through hers, and together we drifted off to sleep.


	16. Playing Games

**_Bella_ **

 

When I awoke the next morning, the events of the previous day came flooding back to me.  I whirled over, hoping to see Edie lying next to me but knowing she wouldn’t be there.  I was right, the bed was empty except for me.  I sighed, laying back down and replaying my night with Edie in my mind.  It had been more than I had ever dreamed of.  I never knew that I could feel this happy.

 

There was something I needed to do, now before I chickened out again.  I was done living in secret.  Edie had become too important to me to hide anymore.  I dug my cellphone out of my jeans pocket.  My hands were shaking, and I hesitated.  

 

As I was growing up, my mom was always searching for her niche.  She tried out every fitness class, crafting group, and book club she came across.  And then there were the churches, one after the other, but she never stuck with any of them.  She would drag me to services almost every Sunday, and there was one thing they all had in common:  no lesbians allowed.  I was terrified that she would disown me if she ever found out.  But after surviving last night, and knowing what true happiness feels like, I knew I could not keep this inside for one more minute.  

I took a deep breath and dialed my mom’s number.

 

“Bella?”  She answered immediately.

 

“Mom, you’re home!”  

 

“Hi honey!  How are you?”

 

“I’m great.”  I grinned.  “Mom, there’s  something I need to tell you.”

 

“What is it?  What’s wrong?”  She was always sensitive to my tone of voice.  

 

“Nothing, actually this is good news.”  

 

“Good news?  Are you coming home?”

 

“No, and that’s part of what I want to say.”  Another deep breath.  “I met someone here in Forks.”

 

“Really?”  Her voice was full of interest now.  “Someone special?”

 

“Yes, someone very very special.”

 

“Oh Bella, I’m so happy for you!”  She gushed.  “When do I get to meet her?”

 

“Thank you I- wait, what?!”

 

“I said when do I get to meet her?”

 

I sat down on my bed, hard.  “How did you know?”  I whispered.

 

“Bella, honey, I’m your mother.  I know you better than you know yourself.”

 

I could feel myself hyperventilating now.  “So, you’ve known all along?”

 

“Of course.  I didn’t want to make an issue of it, it’s all the same to me as long as you find someone who loves you and respects you.”

 

“But...but…”  I sputtered.  “What about all those church sermons we went to?  I thought you were trying to tell me it was wrong!”  My voice was shrill and hysterical.

 

“Oh no!  No not at all!  That’s why I kept leaving all of them!  I would never participate in a church that encourages that kind of discrimination and hatred.  Bella I am so sorry you felt that way, I had no idea.”

 

I was speechless.  She already knew.  She was okay with it.  I had been living in fear for no reason.

 

“I love you so much mom.”  I choked out.  The relief washing through me was cathartic.

 

“I love you too Bells.”

 

“So, um, about me moving back to Phoenix…”

 

She sighed heavily.  “I had a feeling, when I talked to you last week, that something had changed your mind about Forks.  Now I know it’s actually some _one_.  I’m really going to miss you sweetheart.”  Now her voice was choking up.  I was relieved that I didn’t have to argue this with her, but it didn’t make it any easier.

 

“Me too, mom.”

 

“Promise you will come for a long visit this summer!”

 

I smiled through my tears.  “Of course I will.”

 

“And bring miss…”

 

“Edie, Edie Cullen.”

 

“Bring miss Edie Cullen with you, okay?”

 

I gulped.  Edie, in Phoenix?  I didn’t think there would ever be a sunblock strong enough to make that happen.  “I will invite her.”

 

“Good.  I love you Bella.  Call me again soon, okay?”

 

“I will, I promise.  Love you mom.”

 

We hung up, and I laid back down on my bed feeling drained.

 

When I had recharged a bit I picked the phone back up and called Jacob.  He of course wanted all the details about my first kiss with Edie, so I told him everything- minus the part where she almost bit me of course.  He was officially in awe of me, and I had to admit I was a little in awe myself.  I couldn’t believe my good luck in finding someone so amazing, who also seemed to feel the same way about me.  I felt like I was floating and would never come back down to earth.

 

And then my dad knocked on my door.

 

“Bella!  Want some breakfast?  I made eggs and bacon.”

 

“Coming Dad!”

 

I walked down the stairs to the smell of sizzling bacon, and my stomach rumbled.  The ten-course Italian meal from yesterday felt like it was a very long time ago.

 

“Morning Dad,” I greeted him as I helped myself to a large plate of food.

 

“Hey Bells,”  He replied with his mouth already full of eggs.  I took my seat at the table and dug in.  “So what’s on your agenda for today?”  He asked conversationally.

 

“I have a date with Edie Cullen.”  I told him nonchalantly, hoping he wouldn’t ask too many questions.  

 

His hand overshot the handle of his coffee mug and it skittered across the table.  “That’s the big guy with the dark curly hair?”  He sounded worried.

 

“No Dad, that’s Emmett.  Edie is the redhead.  Edie, short for Edythe.”

 

“Oh.  Ohh.”  Comprehension finally dawned on him and he studied me critically.  “Just tell me one thing.”

 

I tensed.  “Yes?”

 

“Does she make you happy?”

 

My face relaxed into a relieved grin.  “Yes!  Ridiculously happy, actually.”

 

“Well, good.  That’s all that matters.”  He cleared his throat and went back to reading the paper.  I was still grinning ear to ear, unable to wipe the giddy smile off my face as I finished my breakfast.  It turns out my parents are awesome.  Who knew?

 

I sat at the kitchen table reading, trying to pass the time until the sun left and Evie arrived.  Finally after what seemed like forever, the sky darkened.  I ran to the front door and grabbed my rain jacket.

 

“What’s the hurry?”  My dad called from the living room.

 

“Edie’s on her way over, Dad!”  I called back to him.

 

“Aren’t you gonna introduce me?”

 

I groaned.  “Fine.”  I ran out the door and sure enough, there she was standing next to Emmett’s gargantuan Jeep.  I threw my arms around her, and she laughed in surprise.

 

“Well hello to you too.”  She hugged me back, smiling hugely at me.  We stood there grinning idiotically for a moment before Emmett cleared his throat loudly.

 

“Excuse me, ladies, but we need to get going if we’re going to reach the clearing in time.”

 

“In time for what?”  I asked.

 

“Baseball game,” He grinned.

 

“Really?”  I asked, turning back to Edie.  “But I thought-”

 

“Change of plans.”  She told me.  “Alice believes they might follow your scent to your house.”

 

“Charlie!”  I gasped.  It hadn’t occurred to me that he might be at risk.  

 

“So we decided to head out of town in the hopes it would draw them away.”

 

“Plus, now we get to play ball.”  Emmett added.

 

“Yes, also that.”  Edie agreed, though I could tell it was not her first priority.

 

“Okay well, before we go...um...my dad wants to meet you.”

 

“He does?”  She looked surprised.  “So does that mean-?”

 

“Yes.  I told him.  Mom too.”  

 

She grinned and hugged me again.  “Right then, let’s go meet your father!”

 

Emmett rolled his eyes.  “Good luck with that E.” And he climbed back into the Jeep.

 

I led Edie back into the house with me.  My dad was waiting inside the kitchen.  

 

“Hey Dad, this is Edie.”

 

“Miss Cullen,” He greeted her, offering his hand.

 

“Pleasure to meet you, Sherriff.”  She shook his hand confidently.

 

He appraised her with the eye of a police chief.  “So what do you have planned for today?”

 

“We are just going to play some baseball with my family.”

 

Charlie raised his eyebrows and looked at me.  “Baseball?”  He asked, knowing my complete lack of interest in anything sports-related.  

 

“Sure Dad, I love baseball.”  I replied a little too quickly.

 

“It is the American pastime.”  Edie added, smiling crookedly.

 

Charlie looked back and forth between the two of us.  “Nothing illegal and be back before nine.”

 

“Of course!”  I told him.

 

“Bella will be safe with us,” Edie assured him, and he nodded.

 

“Give my regards to Doctor Cullen.”  He requested.

 

“Absolutely.”

 

“Okay then, have fun kids.”  He showed us out the door, and as soon as it closed behind us I erupted into a fit of giggles.  

 

“What?”  Edie asked me.

 

“The American pastime?”  I howled.

 

She shrugged.  “Well it’s true!”  

 

I pulled myself into the back seat of the Jeep and pulled the harness buckle over my head, still laughing uncontrollably.  Emmett looked at me over his shoulder, grinning.

 

“That bad, huh?”  

 

“Oh yeah.”  I chortled.

 

Edie shook her head.  “I’m never going to live this one down,” she told her brother, and we sped off toward the mountains.

  


**_Edie_ **

 

I shook my head as Bella continued to giggle.  It was impossible to feel irritated when Bella’s very presence made me feel intoxicated.  I got my revenge, though, as we left the highway and made our way through the mountains along a dirt road that was barely wider than a trail.  Bella was bouncing in her seat so violently that Emmett and I had to tease her mercilessly, imitating her chattering teeth until she smacked both of us on the shoulders.  That only made Emmett laugh harder.

 

We reached the end of the trail and the jeep would not be able to go any farther.  Emmett parked and jumped out.  “See you kids up there.” He told us and disappeared into the trees at top speed.  As he went I distinctly heard him muttering something about “kid’s definitely lost her mind.”  

 

Bella climbed out of the back seat, looking up at the sky disparagingly.  She pulled her hood tighter over her head.  

 

“Maybe I’ll just wait here,”  She said, turning back around to open the door.

 

“Oh no you don’t!”  I pushed my palm against the door to prevent it from opening and watched her struggle with the handle.

 

“Hey!”  She cried when she realized what I was doing.  She whirled back around to face me, fuming.  I placed my other hand against the jeep so that she stood in the circle of my arms, her back pressing up against the vehicle.  I pushed her hood down and swept her long hair back over her shoulder, brushing my hand along her neck.  She shivered at my touch, and her eyes darkened with ardor.

 

I leaned in closer to her, letting her scent burn through me and once again marveling at the absence of the beast.  Her heart was thundering in my ears, and I bent down to whisper into hers.  “What were you saying about staying here?”

 

“Just that...it’s raining and...cold...and…”  She gasped as my lips brushed the side of her neck and traced along her jaw.

 

“And?”  I prompted, making my way to her lips.

 

“And…” She stammered, her lower lip trembling as I grazed it with mine.  “Well... there are so many... more fun things we could be doing... other than playing baseball.”  She breathed, and wrapped her lips around mine.    I crushed her against me, my hands cradling her head.  Her arms wound around my waist, clutching the back of my shirt and pulling me closer still.  

 

Desire surged through me, and I pulled away from her with great effort.  I pressed my forehead against hers, both of us breathing hard.  “You will be my undoing, Bella Swan.”  I told her.

 

“I sincerely hope so,” She replied with a wicked grin.

 

We stood there in the misting rain until her heart finally slowed.  “My family is waiting,” I reminded her, and she nodded reluctantly.  I took her hand and led her through the forest to our clearing.  

 

The others were busy preparing the field.  Carlisle marked bases with white stones while Emmett practiced swinging an aluminum bat.  Alice and Jasper were warming up, throwing the ball back and forth between them.  I grinned, catching their enthusiasm for the upcoming game.  It had been a long time since we had played.  

 

“Edie!”  Rosalie called from across the large field.  “You take center field!”  

 

“Just try and keep a safe distance.” I told Bella.

 

She frowned.  “But how will I see what’s going on?”

 

“It won’t matter either way, trust me.”  I kissed her swiftly on the cheek then headed to my position, jogging out as far as the field would allow.  

 

“It’s time!”  Alice bounded happily to the pitcher’s mound, ball in hand.  A second later a loud peal of thunder erupted above us, reverberating off of the sides of the mountain.

 

“Batter up!”  Esme called as Emmett stepped up to the home plate.  I was ready.  

 

He let the first ball go by, and it smacked into Jasper’s hand with a loud crack.  I knew he was just gauging Alice’s throw.  I crouched low, preparing to run for it.

   

Sure enough, the second the ball left Alice’s hand Emmett was swinging the bat with all his considerable might.  With a crash that rivaled the thunder, the bat connected and I was running.  I beat the ball to the edge of the field, then launched myself into the trees.  I used the branches to propel myself upward, and then I was flying through open air toward the ball.  I caught it in my left hand and hit the ground just as Emmett was rounding third base.

 

“Out!”  I whooped, holding the ball above my head triumphantly.  Emmett scowled, promising payback with his glare.  

 

We continued playing, rotating positions so everyone got a chance at bat.  

 

It was the fourth inning, as I crouched behind the home plate waiting for Carlisle to bat, when Alice suddenly went rigid.  Carlisle dropped the bat and ran to her.  I knew what was happening before the others, as I watched Alice’s vision unfold in her mind.

 

Three vampires entered the Olympic National Forest.  They skirted around the town limits as Alice had predicted last week.  I froze, waiting to see if they would catch Bella’s scent and head into town as they had in the previous vision.  They didn’t.

 

This time they detected the sound of a ball game underneath the clap of thunder.  They raced toward the sound, looking eager.

 

“They’re coming.”  Alice said, as her vision went black.  She could not see the outcome:  they were coming for us.

 

“How soon?”  Carlisle asked, glancing toward Bella.

 

“Less than five minutes.”

 

Carlisle deliberated, and I listened to his train of thought.   _If we run they will be sure to chase,_ he reasoned.   _But if we stay...continue playing...perhaps they will be reasonable._  Carlisle always wanted to think the best of people.  I wasn’t so sure.

 

I cast my mind outward, searching for the visitors.  It wasn’t long before I heard their thoughts as they approached.

 

“They want to play,” I told the others, surprise coloring my voice.  It wasn’t often that we encountered other vampires who were interested in anything other than hunting.  Maybe they were civilized after all.

 

We resumed our positions, playing half-heartedly now.  I kept close to Bella, whose brows were creased with worry.  “You will be fine, I promise.”  I told her, hoping it was true.  I more than anyone knew the lure of Bella’s blood.  Had we been foolish to think we could keep them from her?

 

“No worries, Bella.”  Emmett called with a grin.  “If they try anything, we can take them.”  I tried to take in some of his confidence.  Then I heard their approach and turned to face them, pulling Bella behind me.

 

They emerged one by one from the forest, two men and a woman.  Their eyes were wary, and their thoughts immediately became confused as they took in our clean clothes and easy camaraderie.  They themselves were dressed in the well-worn travel clothes of typical nomadic vampires.  None of them had ever encountered a group as large as ours, and they were intimidated.

 

“Hello,” said the man in front with long dread-locked black hair.  “I am Laurent, this is James and Victoria.”  He indicated the other two.  His voice had a faint French accent.  “Do you have room for a few more players?”  His thoughts were clear: he wanted no trouble from us.  I relaxed slightly.

 

Carlisle had taken the point position, with Emmett and Jasper on either side of him, Rosalie and Alice flanking them and Esme hanging back with me and Bella.  I could feel Jasper using his ability to calm the situation.  

 

“I’m Carlisle,” he introduced himself, matching Laurent’s friendly tone.  “This is my family.  Unfortunately we were just finishing up, but we’d be interested in playing another time.  How long will you be in the area?”

 

“We were just passing through and thought we’d see who was in the neighborhood.  It’s been a while since we’ve run into anyone.”

 

“We maintain a large territory here and don’t meet many visitors.”  Carlisle told him pointedly.  “I mean no offense, but we would appreciate if you don’t hunt in the area.  We are trying to remain inconspicuous, you see.”

 

“Of course,” Laurent agreed.  “We didn’t mean to encroach.  Anyways, we just ate outside of Seattle.”  

 

“We’d best be on our way.  Pleasure meeting you, and safe travels.”  Carlisle told them, hoping they would continue on without incident.  I turned Bella around to head back toward the Jeep when the wind picked up.  It blew her hair across her face and carried her scent directly into the path of the visitors.  I tensed and pulled her behind me again, but it was too late.

 

The second male, James, caught her scent.  His eyes immediately blackened, veins popping out along his eyelids.  “You brought a snack!” He hissed through bared fangs, and took one step forward into a crouch.  

 

Before I could stop myself a feral snarl tore from my throat and I crouched down as well, holding Bella behind me.  James’ nostrils flared and his muscles twitched as if to pounce.  

 

Carlisle and the others closed ranks around us.  “She’s with us.”  Carlisle snapped.  “I think you should be going now.”

 

But I had already heard James’ mind and knew that would be impossible now.

 

“We don’t want any trouble,” Laurent and Victoria were backing away now, and the woman took hold of James’ arm to pull him along with them.  They seemed to realize they were no match for the seven of us, and turned and fled into the trees.

 

“We have to get out of here, now!”  I shouted, pulling Bella along with me as I ran the other way out of the clearing.

 

“Edie, what’s wrong?  They already left!”  Bella cried, her voice shrill with terror.

 

“I heard his mind,” I told her, “He’s a tracker.”  The others gasped behind me.  “Now that he’s caught your scent he will stop at nothing to capture you.  When I protected you, I challenged him.”  I stopped and turned back to look at my family each in turn, hoping to impart to them the seriousness of what I had learned from James’ mind.  “I just made Bella his most interesting target in a very long while, and that is his favorite game.”


	17. The Chase

 

**_Bella_ **

 

“He’s a tracker,” Edie was saying, “and Bella is his mark.”  The words were like ice down my spine.  

 

“Carlisle, what are we going to do?  We can’t let him harm the girl.”  Esme’s maternal voice sounded as worried as I felt.

 

“No, of course we won’t.”  Carlisle answered.  “We’ll take her home with us, keep her safe.”

 

“He’ll wait!”  Edie was yelling now in her panic.  “He will not stop until he has her.”

 

Carlisle was deep in thought.  Edie was studying him, probably listening to his thought process.  She kept shaking her head, and I assumed she was dismissing his ideas as quickly as he was coming up with them.  “He will follow us no matter where we go.”  She told him grimly.

 

Emmett was looking back and forth between the two of them.  “We have to kill him.”  He said finally, interrupting their silent exchange.

 

Everyone stared at him.

 

“It’s the only way.”  He said matter-of-factly.

 

“Emmett, you know we can’t do that.  It’s forbidden.”  Carlisle told him sternly.

 

“Not if it’s in self defense.”  He countered.  “If he is dumb enough to go after Bella, he deserves what he gets.”

 

Carlisle was shaking his head.  “No.  We would have to wait for him to make the first move.  It’s too risky.”

 

“What other option do we have?”  Edie asked quietly.  She turned to me, her eyes brimming with emotion.  “I won’t let anything happen to you, I can’t lose you.”  I nodded, unable to find words.  She turned back to Emmett.  “How are we going to do this?”

 

“We draw him out away from his coven.  Then we pen him in, and let me at him.”  He grinned with malice, cracking his knuckles in his palm.  I wasn’t sure when I’d gotten on Emmett’s good side, but I was glad.  Even if he was only using me as an excuse to start a fight, he seemed to have my back.

 

“Where are you planning to lead him?”  Esme asked.  “We can’t use our house, the lab…”

 

Carlisle thumbed his phone and started speaking into it too swiftly for me to catch any of the words.  The call only lasted a few seconds.  “The Denali coven is travelling.  They have given us permission to use their home.”  he told us as he shoved the phone back into his pocket.  “Eva, you take Bella there as fast as you can.  The rest of us will try to head them off.”

 

“Wait!”  Alice said suddenly.  “I can’t scan ahead for you.”  She told me and Edie.  “But if I go with Bella, and you go with the others I will be able to _see_ for all of you.”

 

“No, absolutely not!”  Edie cried.  “I’m not leaving you,” she told me, taking both of my hands in hers.

 

“Think about it, E.”  Emmett told her gently.  “After the way you protected her, this psycho is gonna assume that wherever you are, she will be.”

 

“Alice’s sight would be quite valuable in this situation.”  Carlisle told her.

 

Edie stood still for a long moment, her eyes dark as logic battled against her desire to protect me.  Finally she nodded.  “Very well.”  Then she turned to Alice.  “But if you lay so much as a finger on her…”  The warning in her voice was severe, and I was suddenly afraid for Alice.  Why was Edie threatening her?

 

“I would never do anything without your consent.” Alice told her stiffly, chin raised in defiance.  “Besides, I don’t even know if I could do it.  I would never take that chance.”

 

“Good.”  

 

Jasper, who had been standing off to the side of the group farthest away from me, stepped forward now.  “I will go with Alice and Bella.”  

 

Edie bristled at this.  “You don’t have enough control yet!”  The panic was overwhelming her now.

 

“Jazz, I love you but you are the best fighter.  They will need you more than I will.  I can take care of myself and Bella.”  Alice told him gently.

 

“But if you are with her you won’t be able to _see_ for yourself.”  The worry in his voice was evident.

 

“I will just have to take that chance.  Besides, I will be watching ahead for all of you.  I will be able to _see_ what James is doing.  If the vision goes blank I will know he is coming to us and we will leave immediately.”  Jasper didn’t look convinced by Alice’s words, but he did not argue.

 

“Okay, here is what we’re going to do.”  Carlisle brought everyone’s attention back to him.  “Esme, you can go to the Denali house with Alice and Bella.”  Esme nodded.  “Emmett, Jasper, and Edie will lead James into the mountains.  If he attacks, you will dispatch him.  If he flees, you will let him go.”  He stared at each of them to make sure his point was understood.  “Rosalie, you and I will lead the other two into town.  I am confident I can reason with both of them once they are away from James.”

 

Rosalie crossed her arms and glared at Carlisle.  “What is she to me?  I don’t understand why we all have to risk our necks for one human.”  She sneered at me.  

 

I decided to speak up before Carlisle could respond.  “I agree with Rosalie.”  I said, and everyone gaped at me.  “None of you should have to risk your lives for me.”

 

“Bella what are you saying?”  Edie was on the verge of hysterics.

 

“You have saved my life three times now.”  I told her.  “You have welcomed me into your home and trusted me with your secret.  I couldn’t live with myself if any of you were hurt because of me.”

 

Emmett laughed now, dispelling the macabre mood.  “Not to worry, kid.  We can handle ourselves.”

 

“He’s right, Bella.”  Jasper added.  It was the first time he had spoken to me directly.  “This mission is well within our abilities.”

 

“You are one of us now, Bella.”  Carlisle told me.  “We take care of our family.”

 

His words filled me with warmth from my toes to my fingertips.  “Okay,” I said, trying in vain to keep my voice steady through the waves of emotion.  “I’ll do whatever I can to help.”

 

“Good,” Carlisle smiled warmly at me.  “Give me your jacket.”

 

I removed my raincoat and handed it to him, perplexed.  He handed it to Rosalie.  “Put this on.”  He told her.  “No arguments,” he added before she could protest.  She shrugged my jacket on, glaring at me the whole time.  But her animosity could not break through the happiness I felt at being welcomed into Edie’s family with open arms.  

 

“Edie,” He continued with the instructions.  “Carry Bella to the Jeep.  Try not to let her touch anything on the way.  Then Alice and Esme will drive her up to Denali while you and your brothers seek out James.  Remember what I said.”  He cautioned her sternly.  Her mouth was set in a tight line, but she nodded to show she understood.

 

“Ahh,” Alice said.  “I can _see_ now!  This will work.  The tracker will pick up the scent of the jacket and follow Rose and Carlisle toward town.  The other two are not with him.”

 

“Excellent!”  Emmett cried.  “We’ll have a clear shot.  Let’s do this!”  His enthusiasm for the fight should have been frightening, but instead I felt comforted.  Then before I knew what was happening my feet were being swept out from under me as Edie lifted me into her arms.  I didn’t have time to marvel at the fact that she carried me as if I were weightless, because we were currently running through the trees at breakneck speed toward the Jeep.

 

I squeezed my eyes shut as the landscape blurred around us, tucking my head into Edie’s shoulder.  She bent her head down to mine, pressing her lips to the top of my head as she ran.  “I’m going to keep you safe,” she told me.  “I will do whatever I have to to make sure he can never come after you, no matter what Carlisle says.”

 

I opened my mouth to tell her not to do anything stupid, but she already had the door open and was buckling me into the back seat of the Jeep.  “Stay close to Esme,” she told me, her fathomless golden eyes burning with intensity, and then she was kissing me fiercely.  Before I could say a word she was gone, leaving only the taste of her lips on mine.

 

Esme gunned the Jeep forward while Alice sat shotgun, her eyes unfocused as she scanned ahead for the others.  “Rose and Carlisle left a clear trail for him to follow.  It won’t be long now.”  She said out loud.  I felt tension rising up inside of me as we began the long drive toward Alaska.  Alice seemed to be taking a break from her visions, so I jumped at the chance to ask her a question.

 

“Alice,” I began.

 

“Yes?”  She turned around in her seat to look at me.  

 

“Why is Edie mad at you?”  I had no idea if she would answer, but I had to try.

 

“I _may_ have suggested that turning you into a vampire would solve many of our problems.  Our current situation strengthens my point.”  She answered pragmatically as if we were discussing the weather rather than my mortality.  

 

I stared at her in shock.  It had not even occurred to me that that was an option.  “Would that work?”  I asked.

 

“Well, James wouldn’t be able to eat you for one thing.”  She told me.  “Also, it would be easier for Edie to be with you, and easier for all of us to be around you.  And, well, the truth is I am hoping that once you are turned I will be able to _see_ you, and perhaps Edie would _hear_ you as well.”  She said this as if vampirism was a certainty for my future.

 

I sat back in stunned silence.  Was that what Edie wanted for me?  To be like her, so she wouldn’t have to keep protecting me all the time?  The idea of spending eternity with her was enticing to be sure.  But then I recalled her warning to Alice.  She didn’t want Alice to turn me.  She was angry that Alice had even suggested it.  She must not want to spend forever with me after all.  My eyes were stinging with tears as we sped along the highway.

 

Alice was still watching me closely.  “She loves you, you know.”  She told me assuredly.  

 

I looked up at her, surprised.  “How do you know that?”  

 

“I’ve lived with the Cullens since I was turned.  It’s been almost a hundred years, and never once have I seen Edie act like this.  With anyone, ever.  You’re good for her.”  She grinned at me then, and I felt a little better.  She turned back around in her seat and resumed monitoring the others.

 

As we drove, I stared out at the emerald trees that whirled past us and thought about immortality.  What would I have said if Edie had been the one to bring it up?  Did I even _want_ to be immortal?  I wanted to be with Edie, more than I had ever wanted anything before.  But did that mean I would have to leave my life behind me?  It was suddenly all too much, and I felt as if the Jeep was closing in on me.  I forced myself to calm down and focus on surviving the day.  I could worry about eternity after I made it home tonight.  

  


**_Edie_ **

 

I was running hard through the forest, harder than I’d ever run before.  The trees flew past me in indistinct blurs.  Maybe if I ran fast enough, my tormented mind would be left behind and I would be free.  How could this have happened?  After all this time, I finally find the one person I want to spend my existence with, only to have her ripped away from me.  It was all my fault!  If I hadn’t convinced her to come out to the mountains today, if I hadn’t challenged James by protecting her…

 

“You’re wrong, you know.”  Jasper, running beside me, cut into my reverie.

 

“What are you talking about?” I snapped.

 

“I can feel what you’re feeling, remember?”  He told me kindly.  “It isn’t all your fault.  If she hadn’t been with us, they would have found her later unprotected.  You did the right thing.”

 

I wanted to believe him, wanted to with all my might.  

 

“Hold up!”  Emmett called from behind us.  “I found the trail.”

 

I wheeled and ran back to where he stood.  Sure enough, the forest floor held miniscule traces of recent footfall that emitted a distinct scent: vampire.  Emmett charged ahead, following the trail.  He was almost as determined to destroy this tracker as I was.  Almost.  Bloodlust raged within me anew, only this time it wasn’t for my soft human prey.  This time I hungered to sink my teeth into the flesh of my own kind.  

 

The trail led us back to the clearing where we had played our baseball game a mere hour ago.  Sure enough, the tracker had stopped to examine the spot where we’d all stood discussing what to do, then took off in the direction Rosalie and Carlisle had taken into town.  The jacket ruse had worked.  We followed slowly now, knowing we were closing in on our quarry as he believed he was closing in on his.  

 

The trail skirted around the edge of town, similar to the way Alice had _seen_ the visitors approach last week.  We followed warily, unsure when we would come upon him.  My muscles itched to spring ahead, my fangs ready to rip and tear.  I could feel Jasper using his power to try and calm the urge to kill, but I fought against him.  I needed to stay sharp.  I cast my mind out around us, searching for his thoughts.  Now that I knew his mind, I should be able to find him easily.  

 

We came to a halt at the edge of the forest.  I tensed, instantly suspicious.  I knew this part of the forest very well.  We were behind Bella’s house.  I picked up on the thoughts of Carlisle and Rosalie nearby.  They had come this way because it made sense for Bella to come here.  But where was James?

 

My instincts were screaming at me to run, that something was wrong, that this is a trap.  I froze, rooted to the spot.  My phone buzzed in my pocket:  Alice.  I moved to answer it, but a strong hand reached out to stop me.  Carlisle and Rose had joined us silently, and now his thoughts were screaming at me as he held my arm still.   _The woman!_ He warned, and before his next thought even registered I heard her mind: she was inside Bella’s house.

 

 _Edie, stop!_ Carlisle commanded before I could run in and tear her throat out.  He still held me by the arm.   _Charlie has not been harmed_ he told me, but I still didn’t relax.   _She is hiding.  She knows we wouldn’t dare attack her there in front of him.  He still has no idea she is there._  I was furious.  She was using Bella’s father as a human shield.  

 

I scanned her thoughts to confirm what Carlisle was saying.  It was true.  Her power was hiding and escaping.  She was a coward, only concerned with her own survival.  I despised her instantly.  But I swallowed my disgust and searched her mind further.  Sure enough, I was able to catch bits of their plan.  

 

“James carried her here to cover her scent, like we did with Bella.”  I whispered to the others.  “Then he left her here.”  I turned to look at them all.  “He’s travelling along the rooftops.”

 

My phone had not stopped buzzing.  I pulled it out of my pocket and thumbed it open.  “Alice.”  I said.

 

“He’s on the move.”  She told me.  “I can _see_ that he will be at the school next.”

 

“What about the other two?”  I asked her.

 

“Laurent is still in the mountains.  It doesn’t seem like he wants anything to do with this.”

 

“And the woman?”

 

There was a long pause on the other end.  “Oh no.”  She finally said.

 

“What is it, Alice?!”  I had to force myself to keep my voice low.

 

“I can’t _see_ her!  She must be following us!”

 

“No, that can’t be right.  We are looking right at her Alice, she’s here at the Swan house.”

 

“She’s at Bella’s house?”  Alice cried, and now I heard Bella shouting unintelligibly in the background.   “Why didn’t I see that happening?”    

 

“Alice, tell Bella her father is fine, we are watching him.”  I heard her repeat what I said.  Then something occurred to me.  “Alice, it’s Bella’s father!”

 

“Yes I realize that he is in danger but you just told me he’s fine!”

 

“No, I mean Victoria is there with Bella’s father, and that is why you can’t _see_ her!”

 

“Are you telling me that Charlie is also immune to our gifts?  Why didn’t you tell me this before?”

 

“I never realized…”  I immediately tried to read his thoughts.  I heard nothing from him.  “It’s true, I can’t _hear_ him either.  It must be something genetic.”  How could I have missed that?  How many times had I passed by the police chief in this tiny town and never once did I notice that his thoughts were hidden from me?  I had grown far too complacent here.  

 

“Well that’s just great.”  Alice launched into a tirade of obscenities that would have made a sailor blush.  

 

“Alice, we need to focus!”

 

“But I’m completely useless!”  She cried in despair.

 

“No, listen, you have to keep tabs on James.  He is the one we have to find.”

 

Carlisle plucked the phone from my hand.  “Alice, listen, Rose and I will stay here and watch over Charlie.”  He shot a glance at Rosalie to make sure she understood.  “Keep in contact with Edie, focus on James and nothing else.  We need you.”  He must have calmed her down because he hung up the phone and handed it back to me.  “She will be calling you with the next update.  Please then relay the information to me.  Now get going if you want to catch him before he leaves the school.”

 

I didn’t have to be told twice.  I shot out of the forest at a run, keeping to the edge of the trees out of sight of the house, Emmett and Jasper on my heels.  We ran to the school, stopping at the edge of the parking lot to evaluate the situation.  I could hear his thoughts, but could not figure out where he might be hiding.  He was smug, knowing that he had fooled us for the moment by taking to the rooftops.  He was lying in wait, the anticipation filling him with elation.  He considered himself a master hunter; all he asked of life was a challenge, and we had presented him with his most interesting challenge yet.  A large, strong coven protecting one of the most delectable humans he’d ever found.  He was positively euphoric.  I felt like I was going to be sick.

 

Then Alice called again.  “He’s inside the gym.”

 

We were on the move again, circling the building until we arrived at the door to the gym.  We waited outside, listening.  His thoughts were louder now, closer.  I nodded to Emmett and he burst through the door.  

 

James stood at the top of the bleachers, waiting for us, grinning.  Before I could stop myself I lunged forward with an animalistic shriek.  He laughed as I practically flew up the stairs to get to him, and the second before I reached him he fell nimbly back down to the floor.  He was taunting me.  

 

Emmett and Jasper were there, circling him with bared fangs.  He feinted left and Emmett jumped for him, but his arms closed on empty air.  Then Jasper snuck up behind him, but he whirled around and jumped on him first.  I screamed, running full out toward James’ back as he attacked Jasper.  Emmett got there before me and landed a brutal blow to James’ head.  Jasper, who was more adept than James, had easily twisted out of his grip and landed a bite on his forearm that tore flesh from the bone.  

 

James howled in pain, and a vicious anger now clouded his thoughts.  He sensed that he was out of his league.  He would not stay and fight us, that was not his goal.  He had something else in mind...this was a diversion.  My phone was ringing, but I had no time.  James raced for the door, impossibly fast, and the three of us followed close behind him.  He burst through the door into the night, and as we raced to catch up the door suddenly slammed shut in front of us.

 

It was Victoria.  

 

Her fiery red hair framed her face in unruly tangles, and her expression was triumphant.  She brandished a blowtorch and aimed it at us.  We jumped backward in one smooth motion.  Emmett was growling in frustration, and Jasper’s eyes were darting around the gym anxiously searching for another way out.  There wasn’t one.

 

We fanned out.  I stayed in front of her just out of range of the torch while Jasper and Emmett flanked her.  She backed up, pointing the torch at each of us in turn.  Without taking my eyes off of her I answered my phone, which hadn’t stopped ringing.

 

“Alice.”  I said.

 

“Carlisle and Rose are on their way.”  She told me hurriedly.  “Keep Victoria occupied until they get there!”  

 

“And James?”  I asked, my voice thick with hatred.  

 

“He’s on the move.  He hasn’t decided yet where he’s going, so I can’t _see_ it yet.  I’ll call back when I do.”  She hung up and I pocketed the phone.  

 

“Our friends have James,” I told Victoria, putting as much arrogance into my tone as I could.  “Laurent has fled.  You are on your own and outnumbered.”  I strode toward her slowly, forcing her back against the door.  

 

She pulled the trigger on the torch and flames surged toward me.  I dropped to the floor, feeling the waves of heat above me, and rolled back out of range.  When I looked back at her, her eyes were wild and her thoughts spinning out of control.  She was afraid now.  Good.  I nodded to Emmett and then Jasper, and we slowly closed in on her.

 

We were too far apart for her to torch us all at once.  She swung the weapon in a wide arc, spewing flames in a semicircle around her.  Each time she moved she exposed one of her sides, and either Jasper or Emmett would dart forward toward her.  She moved the torch back and forth in between them but couldn’t keep up a steady stream of fire.  

 

Jasper’s hand almost closed around her arm when she suddenly shot forward, right at me.  She had tried for unpredictability, not knowing I would _hear_ her next move before she made it.  I was already leaping upward, somersaulting in the air above her before landing behind her.  It had worked.  The three of us crashed through the door and collided with Carlisle and Rosalie.  We bolted the door behind us, hoping it would hold her in for a few minutes.  

 

As I shoved a piece of metal through the door handles, I caught her last thoughts before we turned and ran after James.  She was thinking about the next part of their plan.  In her mind’s eye I saw an address:  the address of the house in Denali.


	18. Confrontation

**_Bella_ **

 

Alice was sitting in the front seat, her eyes moving rapidly underneath her closed eyelids.  She was watching the future.  I was strapped in the backseat, anxious and helpless.  Each phone call sent waves of hope and terror through me.  Were they all alright?  Was Charlie safe?  Was James apprehended yet?  I had wound my hair around my finger so tightly it was cutting off circulation.  The pain helped clear my mind a little.  

 

Suddenly Alice sat bolt upright in her seat, her face turned toward me with an expression of utmost horror.  

 

“He’s coming.”  She told me, her voice heavy with dread.  Fear hit the pit of my stomach like a rock dropped into water.  

 

“Edie?”  I asked, my voice barely audible.  

 

“Everyone is okay.  They were ambushed by the woman and trapped, but they escaped.  Unfortunately so did James.  They lifted the address for the Denali house from our school records.  We lived there before moving here.”  She turned to Esme.  “We have to change course.  Now.”

 

Esme took the next exit.  We had recently crossed into Canada, and now were driving west along BC-3.  We were heading deep into the wilderness.  Alice was on the phone again, speaking so quickly I couldn’t understand any of it.  

 

It was then that my own phone started ringing.  I checked the ID before I answered.  

 

“Hey, Dad!”  I tried to make my voice sound casual.  

 

“Where are you?!” He demanded.  I looked at the clock on the dashboard.  It was nine thirty.  

 

“I’m in the Jeep with Mrs. Cullen.”  I told him.  If I stuck to the truth it was much easier.  Even if it was only a small fraction of the truth.  “The game ran late.”  I added lamely.

 

“I need you to tell me exactly where you are,” the voice on the other end was cold and menacing.  I was not speaking to my father now.  It was James.  “Now, before you speak you must do exactly as I say, or Daddy dearest will pay the price.”  I squeezed my eyes shut, imagining James holding Charlie by the throat.

 

“Okay,”  I choked the word out.  

 

“I already know you are on your way to Alaska.  It would be prudent for you to turn around and come back to Forks now.  But just in case your friends are not as compliant as you are, I will need your exact location.  If you lie to me, you will never see your father again.  Answer only yes or no, please.  First question:  have you reached Canada?”

 

“Yes.” I was so frozen with fear I could barely move my mouth to speak.  He seemed to have heard me.

 

“Excellent.  Next question: are you heading north?”

 

“No,” I breathed.  I wanted to lie, but I couldn’t trust myself to lie convincingly.  Not when Charlie’s life was on the line.  

 

“Interesting!”  His voice was gleeful now, as if he was enjoying the fact that we weren’t doing what he expected.  “Are you going east toward Vancouver?”

 

“No.”

 

“Of course, too obvious!  West then.  Thank you Bella, you’ve been exceptionally helpful.”  His cold voice was polite and even pleasant.  My fingers gripped the phone as if I could break it.  “Now I have one last task for you.  You will set down your phone without disconnecting this call.  I have to make sure you told me the truth.  Do you understand?”

 

“Yes.”  I whispered again, anger beginning to replace the fear in my heart.  How dare he threaten my family?  I would not let him get away with this.  There had to be a way.  But for now, I would play his game.  I set the phone down without ending the call.  

 

“Alice?” I asked, knowing James was listening to every word.  “Maybe we should head back toward Forks.”

 

“What?  Bella, are you feeling alright?”

 

“I’m fine!”  I snapped at her, then bit down on my cheek.  I had to act like everything was fine.  Or as fine as I was a few moments ago.  “I just thought that would be the last thing James would expect.  He thinks we’re going to Denali, and he doesn’t know that we found out his plan.”

 

“She makes a good point,” Esme told Alice.

 

“I don’t know what to do!”  Alice cried hysterically.  “I can’t _see_ which plan will work.”

 

“We will just have to try,” I told her.  “We can’t go to Alaska now.  What other choice do we have?”

 

She slumped down in her seat in defeat and I knew it had worked.  “I will let the others know,” she said and took out her phone once again.

 

I relaxed now, having convinced them to unknowingly follow James’ instructions.  I knew there was little chance that my father was still alive, but I had to try.  The speedometer was inching toward two hundred as we merged onto highway ninety-seven south.  It was a roundabout way, but at least we were heading back toward home.  I leaned my head against the window, and the cold glass helped me concentrate on keeping the panic at bay.  

 

We were halfway there when it happened.  The Jeep collided with an unseen obstacle in the middle of the empty highway.  The front end collapsed with the sound of shattering metal, and we were suddenly airborne as our forward momentum flipped the Jeep upside down.  My chest slammed against the harness and then I was weightless, my hair hanging down around my face and blood rushing to my head.  

 

The Jeep landed on its roof and skidded off the side of the road.  Alice and Esme exited immediately.  I couldn’t make my arms do what I needed to unbuckle the harness, and panic was starting to incapacitate me further.  

 

“Bella, hold still, I’m going to get you out.”  Esme’s soothing voice calmed me enough to stop fighting with my restraints.  She deftly reached in through the broken window and undid the buckle, gently lowering me down so I didn’t fall on my head.

 

“Nicely done.”  Said a familiar voice from behind her.  “It wouldn’t do to have her knocked out before the game even begins.”  I heard a sickening crack, and then Esme’s body fell to the ground in front of me.  Her neck was broken.

 

A bloodcurdling scream rose up in my throat, and I heard Alice drop her phone and run to my side of the Jeep.

 

“Well, if it isn’t the one that got away.”  James spoke to Alice with a voice like velvet.  “It’s lovely to see you again, Mary Alice.”

 

“Who...who are you?”  I had never heard Alice so shaken up.

 

“You don’t remember me?  I’m insulted!” James purred, his quiet voice deadly in spite of the friendly tone of his words.  “Perhaps this will jog your memory.”

 

I scrambled to the broken window and cautiously peeked out.  James had grabbed Alice by the shoulders and was bent over her as if...kissing her?  No, that couldn’t be right.  I took advantage of his momentary distraction to check on Esme.

 

“Esme?”  I whispered, tears streaming down my cheeks.  “Esme, can you hear me?”  I gingerly shook her shoulder, not wanting to move her too much.  There was no response.  My shoulders shook with sobs as I looked down on the lifeless form of Edie’s mother.  Her warm brown eyes stared up at me, unseeing.  My fault.

 

I heard the sound of a struggle, and turned back toward Alice and James.  He had lifted her off the ground and into his arms.  Her head lolled to the side, and I glimpsed an open gash in her neck where he had bitten her.  Blood seeped down her shirt and her skin was pallid.

 

“Leave her alone!”  I screamed, heaving myself up off the ground.  My head was pounding and the ground spun around me, but I managed to stay upright.  

 

“Don’t worry, Bella.  I haven’t forgotten you.”  James walked toward me and set Alice gently, almost tenderly, on the ground beside Esme.  Then he advanced on me.  I held my ground.

 

“Please, don’t hurt them anymore.”  My chin quivered as fresh tears flowed down my face.  “I did what you said.  I’m the one you want.”

 

“How right you are, Bella.”  He tilted his head to one side, appraising me, and his look raised the hairs on the back of my neck.  “Although, it really was a little too easy.  Hardly any fun at all.”  He took another step toward me.  “‘Bella, where are you?’”  he intoned.

 

I started forward in shock.  His voice was a perfect imitation of my father’s.

 

“You...you never had him!” I shouted, trembling with rage and terror.

 

“It turned out I didn’t need to involve him.  You were quite willing to comply.  All we required was his phone, which Victoria obligingly lifted from your home.”

 

“That’s why you went there,” I whispered.  My knees wanted to collapse with relief: Charlie was safe.  But I wasn’t, not yet.  I forced my legs to keep me standing.

 

“But make no mistake.  If you had proven to be difficult, I would not have hesitated to take his life.  In fact, I had been rather looking forward to an appetizer.”  He sounded wistful.

 

My hands closed into fists.  “Don’t you touch him!”  I growled.

 

He laughed heartily.  “Oh you do have some fight in you!  This might turn out to be fun after all.”  

 

I shut my eyes, trying to block out his ravenous gaze, wanting instead to fill my last moments with Edie’s face.  I pictured her amber eyes gazing at me alight with mischief, and her perfect crooked smile.  I sighed, and I wondered if it would hurt very much to die.  I realized then that even if I were to die in the next instant, I did not regret a single moment that led me to this one.

 

But death did not come for me.  

 

Silence closed in around me and all I could hear was my heart pounding in my ears.  I cracked my eyes open slowly.  No sign of James.  Fear spiked through my veins anew.

 

“Ahh,”  His voice came from behind me.  I whirled around.  “Your fear does make you smell even more enticing.  But I’m not ready to eat just yet.”  He sauntered sideways, circling me like a wild cat.  My muscles quivered with adrenaline, screaming at me to run.   _Don’t do it!_ I told myself.   _That’s what he wants!_  This was a game to him- he wanted to chase.  He lowered his head and bared his fangs at me.  I was still frozen.  Then he dropped into a crouch, his lips curling up into a snarl, and released a terrifying growl that ripped through the silence.

 

It was enough.  Reason was overpowered by panic and I turned around and bolted away from him.  He was on me in half a second, grabbing me by the hair and flinging me into the forest.  A crushing blow forced the air violently out of my chest as I smashed into a tree.  I heard a crunch as my head hit the ground hard.  

 

He walked toward me slowly, smiling as I tried in vain to draw oxygen into my lungs.  Finally my airway reopened and I inhaled with a huge gasp.  With the air came a blinding pain in my head and back, and my vision went in and out.  I pushed through the pain and forced myself onto my hands and knees.

 

“Oh no you don’t,” he was instantly standing over me, and with his toe kicked my over onto my back.  Then he stepped down onto my leg, hard.  I heard the awful snap of the bone breaking in half and let out a scream of agony as the pain overtook me.  I tried to twist around and grab for my leg, but he was there blocking me, only inches from my face.  “Any last requests?”  His voice was smooth and upbeat, his eyes excited.  His enjoyment intensified when I tried to speak and a bubble of blood poured out of my mouth.  His eyes changed now, turning black with thirst.

 

Through the waves of nausea and pain I now clung to one shred of hope: my blood, as it dripped down my chin and stained my shirt, was controlling him now.  He wouldn’t be able to draw this out any more.  The pain would be over soon.  

 

He lifted my hand, exposing the tender underside of my arm, and ran his fangs along my skin.  I retched, spilling more blood down my front.  He couldn’t hold off any longer.  He plunged his fangs into the vein in my wrist and drank deeply.   

 

My head spun as blood left my body, and I felt as if I was floating up and away from myself.  The pain was receding into the background.  Then suddenly, the tracker flung my arm away from him in disgust.  

 

“What is this?!”  He cried, and the veins under his eyes were turning from red to black.  “What have you done to me?!”  He voice was a guttural growl.  He dropped to the ground writhing in pain.  I stared transfixed as the black veins traveled further down his face, turning his skin gray as it went.  His thrashing ceased and he let out one final strangled cry before his eyes rolled up into his head.  He was dead.

 

I stared at him, too shocked to feel relieved at the sudden turn of events.  Then a wall of pain broke through the shock and slammed into me, knocking me to the ground.  I hurt all over, but superseding everything was the burning pain in my left wrist.  I stared at the crescent shaped wound where James had bitten me.  Pain lanced through it like I had been scalded, incapacitating me.  The fire was moving, travelling from my wrist through the veins in my arm and up toward my heart.  I knew what was happening.

 

 _One bite_ , Edie’s voice echoed in my mind.   _One bite is all it takes for the venom to spread._

 

I was becoming a vampire.  

  


**_Edie_ **

 

The gas pedal was flush to the floor as I raced west along highway two.  I pushed the ‘vette to its limit, taking the winding mountain pass at over two hundred miles per hour.  I was going so fast I almost missed it.

 

The Jeep, flipped upside down on the side of the road.  Cold dread filled me as I slammed on the brakes, jamming the wheel all the way to the left so that I spun to a stop.  Then I was running, not knowing what I would find when I got there.

 

There were shards of glass everywhere, and then I saw them:  Esme and Alice lying prone on the ground.  I ran faster, falling to my knees when I reached them.  I fought back the panic that was rising within me and tried to evaluate the situation.  I looked inside the Jeep for Bella.  There was no sign of her.  I went back to Alice and Esme.  They were both unconscious but stable.  It was clear to me that they had not been thrown from the Jeep: someone had placed them here.  James.

 

My heart shattered as I realized he had taken Bella.  I let the anguish wash through me for just one second, and then I let the fury build up inside me.  I turned around and began searching for his trail.  When I finished with him, there would be nothing left of him for anyone to find.

 

It didn’t take me long to follow his trail into the woods.  What I found there shook me to my very core.  

 

James lay face-up on the forest floor.  His skin had turned a dark gray, his eyes and lips black.  His face was frozen in an expression of crazed fury.  I reached out with utmost caution, fearful of a trap.  When he still did not stir, I lightly tapped the side of his face.  His skin was rigid, as if rigor mortis had already set in.  There were no thoughts in his head now.  That left no doubt in my mind.  He was dead.  But how?

 

I knew of only two ways to kill a vampire: burned by the sun, or decapitation.  What I was looking at now was something entirely different.  As elated as I was to find James deceased, a tremor of real fear ran through me.  What could have done this?

 

“My Jeep!”  Emmett’s cry startled me.  I ran back to meet my family.  Carlisle was cradling Esme to him, and Jasper carried Alice to the Mercedes.  

 

“Carlisle!”  I shouted, and everyone stopped and looked at me.  “Come quickly!”  I led them back to James’ body, and they stood around him staring down in consternation.  Carlisle knelt down and examined the body.

 

While he worked, I resumed searching for any trace of Bella.  Even after finding James dead, I had little hope that she was still alive.  I had only taken a few steps when I smelled the unmistakable scent of her blood.  I froze, holding my breath.  What would I do if I found her dead?  Or worse, what if I found her bleeding and unwillingly killed her myself?

 

I forced myself to follow the scent.  The pull of her blood drew me forward almost magnetically.  I had to know if she was alive, and I had to be strong enough to keep her that way.  I did not think I would survive it if I became the instrument of her death.  

 

I saw her then, a pale figure lying on the forest floor ahead of me.  It appeared she had been crawling away from James.  Her blood had left a trail along the dead leaves and branches on the ground.  I held my breath tighter, focusing on placing one foot in front of the other to reach her.

 

She wasn’t moving.  I braced myself for the worst, then gently took her shoulder in my hand and turned her over.  Her eyes were unfocused, her mouth open in a silent scream.  Her heart beat was faint, but it was there.  She clutched her left hand to her chest, which was drenched with blood.  

 

“Carlisle!”  I cried again, hysterical.  He would know what to do.  I heard him approach behind me.

 

“Don’t touch her!”  He commanded harshly, and I obeyed instantly.

 

“What’s going on?”  I shrieked, “what’s wrong with her?”

 

“She is transitioning.”  He told me calmly, and gently pulled her arm out to show me the wound on her wrist.

 

“He _bit_ her?!”  I was incredulous.  If James had fed on her, she should be dead right now.  Instead, he was the one lying cold a few feet away.  

 

“It would appear that her blood is poisonous.”  He told me, and everything clicked into place.  He had fed on her, and her blood had killed him.  Uncontrollable laughter bubbled up inside me and exploded from my mouth, startling my family.  

 

“What is _with_ you, E?”  Emmett grumbled.  

 

“He...had to...have her...and she...she killed him!”  I gasped in between fits.  

 

“I guess that is pretty ironic,” Emmett agreed, laughing with me now.

 

“Are you two quite finished?  I’d like to get out of here sometime tonight if you don’t mind.”  Rosalie snapped me out of my hysterics.

 

Emmett’s expression sobered as well.  “Sorry Hon.”

 

I focused back on Bella.  I remembered my transition vividly, and knew the excruciating pain she must be suffering right now.  I took her hand in mine.  “I never wanted this for her.”  I whispered to Carlisle.

 

“I know, Edie.  But perhaps it is better this way.”  He murmured.  

 

“How can you say that?”  I lashed out.

 

“I only meant that, well it is obvious you have grown very close to her.  Won’t it be easier for you now?”

 

“I would never have willingly traded her mortality for my comfort.”  I told him.

 

“I know that.  Perhaps that is why it happened this way instead.”

 

“I don’t need any of your ‘everything happens for a reason’ diatribe right now.”

 

He sighed.  “You know me better than any of the others.”  He put his arm around my shoulders.  “You know I would not wish this on anyone.  Forgive me if I was selfish in wanting happiness for my first daughter.”

 

My anger dissipated instantly.  “There is nothing to forgive.” I told him, and we turned back to our vigil over Bella.

 

I watched the transformation working on her frail body.  The bite on her wrist was already sealed, the only trace of it left was a shiny crescent-shaped scar.  The scrapes on her arms were gone, and her two broken ribs popped back into place loudly.  I could hear her internal organs being repaired, and finally her broken leg snapped back together.  I winced in empathetic pain for her, knowing what she must be experiencing now.  The broken bones, scrapes and bruises would be nothing compared to the fire consuming her from within.  

 

I sat holding her hand and singing a wordless lullaby for what felt like hours.  

 

Finally I felt her fingers flutter in my palm.  She was waking up.  I stepped back, confused and frightened.  Her heart still beat as strongly as ever.  The venom should have taken hold of her heart and stopped it.  Only then would the transformation be complete.  I grabbed hold of Carlisle’s arm and watched as Bella rose gracefully, inhumanly to her feet.  

 

The being that stood before me was a stranger.  Bella’s pale, creamy skin was now a pearlescent white.  Her tangles of dark brown hair now fell in shining black ringlets down her back.  Her full, pink lips were now as white as her skin, and caked with dried blood.  Her heart beat as steady as a metronome.  And worst of all, the intoxicating, maddening scent of her was stronger than ever.  I stumbled backward in fear.  

 

And then the creature opened her eyes.  The warm, chocolate-brown irises darted erratically in every direction.  She focused on me, and I froze under the weight of her gaze.  In the depths of those eyes I saw confusion, then recognition, and finally elation.  Through those eyes I was looking at my Bella.  

 

With a strangled cry I tore myself from Carlisle’s arm and crushed her to me.  The arms that wrapped around me held me just as tightly.  

I broke our embrace and held her out at arms' length, drinking in the sight of her. I filled my eyes with every detail of the girl I thought I'd lost forever.

"Bella," I breathed. "Are you alright?"

"I… _think_ so. I feel…different." Her eyes were filled with confusion again, and now fear. "Where is he? Where's James?"

"We don't have to worry about him ever again. He's dead."

She frowned, as if trying to remember. "Did you kill him?"

"No. You did. He fed on you, and your blood poisoned him."

Her eyes widened, and she looked down at the scar on her wrist. "I remember now. The bite, the fire. I was burning." She looked up at me then, wide eyes fathomless. "Is it done? Am I…am I a vampire?" Her question was barely a whisper.

I looked at her for a long time, trying to figure out what to say. Luckily Carlisle stepped in to help.

"No Bella," he told her gently. "You are not a vampire."

I watched her expression intently, searching for her true reaction. Would she be relieved or disappointed? To my eternal frustration, I still could not hear her thoughts. Apparently Alice was wrong. The transformation did not open her mind to us.

"What am I?" she gasped.

"Not vampire, but nor are you human. You are something new."

Her breath quickened, and I could feel the fear rolling off of her in waves. "It will be okay. We will figure this out together." I told her and squeezed her hand. She smiled at me in return.

Then she looked back to Carlisle, mouth open in horror. "Carlisle!" She cried. "Esme, she…she…and Alice!" She fell to her knees, overcome with grief.

Carlisle and I knelt with her. I placed my finger under her chin and turned her face toward me, then took my other hand and wiped away her tears.

"They will both be fine," Carlisle told her, and her body sagged into me with relief. "but we need to get them home as soon as possible." She nodded, and I helped her to stand again.

"Carlisle," I said in a low voice. "What about James? We need to dispose of the body."

"Emmett!" Carlisle called, and Emmett stepped forward. "You know what to do. Pull him apart and burn the pieces. Rosalie, you help him." Carlisle whispered something to him that I couldn't hear, and I was too distracted with Bella to read their thoughts. They nodded and hurried to take care of it. Carlisle turned back to me. "Eva, take Bella home, she needs rest. Bella, I spoke with your father earlier this evening, you have permission to stay at our house tonight."

Bella released my hand for a moment to throw her arms around Carlisle in a sudden embrace. "I am so sorry that I endangered your family tonight." She told him. "But thank you, for everything."

He looked taken aback, but pleased. "As I said before, you are one of us now. We protect our family." And they smiled at each other. Then I put my arm under Bella's and helped her to the car.

I drove home with her hand in mine and her head on my shoulder. With every second that she was still beside me I became more grateful that she was here, still breathing and still Bella. I resolved to never let her out of my sight again.

We reached home and I carried her up to bed. I gave her a spare set of pajamas and took her torn and bloody clothes downstairs to burn them. I still had no idea how toxic her blood might be. As I was lighting a fire in the large fireplace in the living room I heard the others return.

"We'll go back tomorrow and I'll help you repair it." Rosalie was telling Emmett as they helped Carlisle and Jasper carry in Esme and Alice. I ran down to the cellar and grabbed a handful of our emergency blood bags from the freezer. Back upstairs, I emptied the bags into two large cups and warmed them in the microwave. The aroma set my throat on fire and I felt suddenly parched. But this blood was not for me.

I carried the cups to where Esme and Alice lay on the couches in the living room. Carlisle gently opened Esme's mouth and held the cup to her lips. As soon as the blood touched her mouth she sat up with a gasp, then stretched and popped her neck back into place.

"Ouch!" She cried, rubbing the back of her neck. Carlisle held her close to him.

Jasper did the same for Alice, who needed to drink the whole cup before she regained consciousness. She had lost a lot of blood when James attacked her. As soon as she was done kissing Jasper she ran to me.

"Edie, I am so sorry." Her voice broke with emotion. "I couldn't protect her, it's all my fault!"

"Alice, shh, it's okay. Everything's fine." And I explained everything to her.

She sat staring in shock. "Not a vampire…" she mused.

Esme had been listening to my explanation of the events of the evening, and her expression mirrored Alice's. I looked around at my family, certain we were all wondering the same thing: what had Bella become?

"So what is she still doing here?" Rosalie asked. I was halfway out of my seat before Carlisle eased me back into my chair with a hand on my shoulder.

"She's with me," I growled through clenched teeth.

"We have no idea what she's capable of, or what her intentions are."

My answering snarl was loud enough to rattle the frames on the walls.

Rose was undaunted. "She just _killed_ one of us." She reminded me.

"James was _not_ one of us!" I spat.

"You know what I mean," she rolled her eyes, "a vampire was just killed and we have no idea how. She's dangerous!"

"Let's not be too hasty, Rose." Carlisle told her. "Bella has never given us a reason to mistrust her."

"Even so, we should be cautious don't you think?" Jasper asked, his tone colored with worry.

"What are you suggesting?" I snapped.

"Just that we keep an eye on her."

"I intend to do just that." And I stomped out of the room.

I climbed the stairs to my room knowing one thing only- that no matter what she is, Bella is the one I love. It had all become clear to me when I had almost lost her. I could not imagine my existence without her, and regardless of what my family might think I was going to be with her.


	19. Unsolved

**_Bella_ **

 

As soon as I opened my eyes I was bombarded with images: across from me, the miniscule imperfections in the wall jumped out at me in sharp relief; above, a faint beam of light stretched from the balcony doors toward the wall above me, blinding me when I looked at it; within the beam of light, tiny dust motes swirled and danced.  I kept my eyes half-closed to watch them circling each other.  The light refracted off of them in every color of the rainbow, and I was transfixed.  

 

Through the open window I felt a gentle breeze tickling my skin and I felt laughter bubbling up inside me at the sensation.  I inhaled deeply.  I could smell the dust, and then the paint on the wall, the silk of the drapes, the polyester carpet fibers, the leather couch, and beyond that the wooden balcony above green growing grass and moist earth.  I could hear the blades of grass waving gently in the breeze, and even farther out the splashing of water over rocks.

 

As I was focusing on discovering how far I could listen, a sudden soft chuckle from right beside me startled me.  Before I had even finished thinking about turning toward the sound, I was sitting upright in the bed and looking at Edie.  Every movement I made was more instantaneous than the thought behind it, and my brain felt as if it held volumes of empty space waiting to receive information and store it.  

 

Now that I was looking at Edie’s face, I stared at her in astonishment.  It was as if I had never seen her before.  How had I never noticed the way that each individual hair on her head shimmered with a different tone of bronze and copper?  That her skin shone with a luminescence as if she were lit from within by a white flame?  That her eyes danced with a million different shades of red, orange, amber, and gold?

 

She returned my gaze with a cautious look.  Was she unsure of my reaction, or had her feelings for me changed with my transformation?  Fear took hold of me now.  I was seeing things differently- was Edie seeing _me_ differently?  Then her brow furrowed in a familiar look of frustration and I grinned, instantly relaxing.

 

“You were thinking you’d be able to read my thoughts now, weren’t you?” I asked her, and was startled by my own voice.  It sounded loud to me, and full, as if layered with symphonic harmonies.  She laughed at my expression, and my grin came back immediately.  I could listen to her laugh all day.  As I continued to stare at her, I longed to find the right words to tell her how much she means to me, but nothing even came close.  I needed better words.

 

“Yes, that is what I had hoped.” She answered gently.

 

“Are you disappointed?”  

 

“I think I have already come to terms with the idea that the curiosity will drive me mad.  But the way I see it, I’d rather be stark raving than face even a single moment without you.  How are you feeling?”  She asked me.  

 

“I feel strange, like my senses are on overload.”  She nodded, understanding.  This must be how she felt every single day.  

 

“And are you...hungry?”  I could hear the double meaning behind her question.

 

Edie watched me intently while I considered her question.  I didn’t _feel_ hungry, but then I had no idea what hunger or thirst should feel like to a vampire.  “No, I don’t think so.”  I told her.

 

She sighed heavily in relief.  “So it’s true, you’re not a blood-drinker.  If you were, that would be all you could think about right now.”

 

I accepted this.  “Carlisle was right then.  But how is that possible?  I was bitten.”

 

“I have no idea.  I’ve never heard of anyone surviving a bite and not becoming one of us.  But you have definitely changed.  Your skin, your hair.  You look like a vampire, and move like one. But your heart still beats.”  She was looking at me with an expression of awe.

 

“So it doesn’t bother you?  That I’m...different now?”  It was harder than I thought it would be to voice my current fear aloud.  The fear gripped my heart in a vice and my pulse was deafening in my ears.

 

But Edie laughed again musically.  “What sort of person would I be if I denied you now, after you have been nothing but accepting of me?”  Her gaze intensified.  “I thought I’d lost you yesterday.  I couldn’t bear it if anything ever happened to you.  Bella,” she said, and my name on her lips was like a caress.  “I love you.”

 

The purest feeling of joy welled up inside of me at her words.  It banished every doubt, every fear I’d ever had.  “I love you too, Edie.”  Her answering smile was dazzling, and before I could stop myself my hands were reaching for her.  Without pausing to consider the consequences I pulled her to me, kissing her fiercely.  She returned my kiss with abandon and I was certain I would be consumed by this desire.  I didn’t mind: there were worse ways to die.  

 

But our kiss was interrupted by a light knocking on the door.  The sound was so loud to my ears that I jumped, and found myself crouched across the room before I had even realized I had moved. Emmett, who had opened the door halfway, was in a defensive half-crouch and staring at me warily.  

 

“Emmett, your timing is impeccable as usual.”  Edie snapped at him.  He relaxed his stance and leaned against the door frame.

 

“So sorry to interrupt,” he returned with a knowing smirk.  “But you are going to be late.”

 

“Late?”  I asked, standing up and walking back toward the door, trying to keep my movement slow and controlled.  

 

“School.”  He reminded me.

 

“What?” I cried.  “You can’t expect me to go to school after everything that’s happened!”  The anger that raged through me was excessive.  I stopped to take a deep breath.  I was not usually an angry person.

 

Edie noticed my concern and placed her hands on my shoulders.  “You’re okay, love.  Your emotions will feel very intense for a while.  Vampires feel everything more powerfully.  You will get used to it, after a while.”

 

“But I’m not a vampire.”  My voice broke.  “I don’t even know what I am!” Panic was setting in, overwhelming me.  “I have to talk to Carlisle!”

 

“Shh, it’s okay, you’re going to be alright.”  Edie’s calm voice broke through my panic.  “Carlisle is at the hospital right now,” she explained, “and we have to go to school.”  I opened my mouth to protest and she placed her fingers gently on my lips.  “No arguments.  I will be by your side to help you.  If we don’t go, we will have to explain to Charlie why you were absent after spending time at my house.”  The logic was working.  I nodded in acceptance.

 

“When does Carlisle get back?”  I asked.  The panic was gone as quickly as it had arrived.  

 

“He’s on a twelve-hour shift, but he told us before he left that we will have a family meeting tonight at midnight.”

 

Relief washed through me now that I knew we had a plan.  “Okay good.”

 

“You can do this,”  Edie told me, squeezing my hand.  “I’m here to help you.”

 

“Thank you,” I told her, squeezing her hand in return.  

 

“Um...ouch.”  She winced, pulling her hand out of mine.  “Go easy on me, Bella.”

 

“Oops!  I’m sorry!”  I massaged her hand gently.  “Guess I don’t know my own strength yet.  Hey that reminds me…”  I turned to Emmett.  “Still wanna arm wrestle me?”

 

“You’re on!”  He grinned.  “But later.  Rose and I are heading up to the crash site to see if the Jeep can be salvaged.  See you kids tonight!”

  


My nerves were fried by the time we arrived at the school parking lot.  I had never felt so out of control.  But Edie took my hand in hers as we stepped out of the car, and her touch steadied me.  As we walked into the building hand-in-hand, everyone stared.  This time I didn’t care.  Now that I had found Edie, and after everything we had been through, my previous fear and insecurity seemed silly.  

 

Jessica was openly gawking at us when we walked into English together.  I decided it was time for me to clear the air.  I took a deep breath and released Edie’s hand so she could take her seat.  Her eyes met mine, asking if I was sure.  I nodded, then went to sit beside Jessica.  It took all of my concentration to make myself take each step at a normal pace.

 

“Hi Jess,”  I greeted her.  

 

“Hi Bella,” she returned.  I was relieved she was talking to me again.  “You look...different.”

 

“Oh!”  I suddenly realized that my transformation must be very visible, even to humans.  “Yeah, well when I was in Seattle over the weekend I went to a spa.  You know, seaweed wrap, deep conditioning treatment, the works.”  I was surprised at how easily I lied.  I hoped it would be a sufficient explanation for the differences in my hair and skin.

 

“Wow, where did you go?  I’ve been needing to get my nails done.”

 

“Um, I’ll get you the info.”  I made a mental note to reasearch spas in Seattle latter.  “Look, I should have said this last week but I’m really sorry about how I’ve been ditching you.  I wasn’t trying to exclude you, I was just...dealing with some stuff.”  

 

She nodded, then seemed to be on the verge of asking me something.  I had never seen her so tongue-tied, and I guessed at the reason why.  “So, the truth is I’m kinda dating someone now.”  I told her.

 

Her face brightened, and I could tell she was elated to be the first one in school to get first-hand confirmation of today’s gossip.  “Is it Edie Cullen?”  She whispered excitedly.

 

I nodded, a grin spreading unbidden over my face.  It still astounded me that I had found someone so incredible.  

 

“I can’t believe it!  How did this happen?  Why didn’t you tell me?”  Her questions were coming so fast it almost made my head spin. “Wait!”  She held her hands up, palms toward me like she was stopping traffic.  “Has she kissed you yet?”

 

The blush that covered my cheeks was answer enough for her.  I chanced a glance toward Edie and saw that she was staring fixedly toward the front of the classroom, but her cheek was slightly lifted in my favorite crooked smile.  My blush deepened, and I was saved from having to answer any of Jess’s questions when Mr. Mason called the class to attention.   

 

Then as the bell rang to end the class I took evasive action.  “So how was the dance?”  I asked Jessica, and she launched into a detailed rundown of everything I had missed.  A small part of my brain was listening and remembering everything she said, while the rest of it was focused on walking normally.  

 

Jessica followed me around for the rest of the day, badgering me for details about the Cullens.  She was positively delighted when Edie joined our table at lunch.  She seemed to be feeding off of the stares of the rest of the school.  The more people looked at us, the bouncier she got.  Edie held my hand under the table while I ate (we were both secretly relieved that I was still able to eat actual food) and we exchanged smiles in between answering Jess’s questions.  

 

I felt as if I had been away from my friends for years rather than just a week.  It felt really good to be sitting with them again, especially with Edie now beside me.  I was sitting there relishing in the company and conversation when out of nowhere the panic started creeping up on me again.  I realized that I could sit here and talk with my friends and make plans, but I was no longer truly one of them.  The weight of this realization was staggering.  

 

Thoughts were swirling in my head faster and faster as Edie walked me to biology.  She never let go of my hand as we took our seats at our lab table.  I looked down at the smooth blacktop and remembered my first day of school here.  The day I met Edie Cullen.  My human memories were blurred and fuzzy to me now, but I remembered thinking I was the invisible girl before I moved here.  Now I was anything but.  

 

It was difficult to wrap my mind around everything that had happened since that day, but one thing was indisputable: my life had changed, and nothing would ever be the same again.  Even without knowing what I had become- no longer human, but also not a vampire- I did know this: I wouldn’t go back and change it even if I could.  I didn’t know what the future would bring, but I knew I had Edie by my side and that made all the difference.  

 

I breathed a sigh of relief when class ended.  I opted not to go to gym- I was having enough trouble just placing one foot in front of the other without accidentally running people over.  Edie skipped Spanish and we walked back out to her car.  

 

“Well, that went well.”  Edie smiled at me and I smiled back as I buckled myself into the passenger seat.  It occurred to me that I might not even need the buckle.  Was I immortal now?  I didn’t know.  Better not to chance it on my first day though.  “Now for the hard part.” She continued.

 

“Wait, that was the _easy_ part?”  I gaped at her.  

 

She nodded.  “That’s right.  Now we have to go to your house and wait for Charlie.”

  


**_Edie_ **

 

I listened as Bella’s heart rate accelerated.  “He’ll know something’s wrong.” she said.

 

“Possibly,” I agreed.  “Although you’d be surprised by how much people fail to notice because their minds only let them see what they are expecting to see.”

 

“True,” she acceded.  “But my dad is a cop.  It’s kind of his job to pay close attention to detail.”

 

“We’ll think of something,” I told her, but so far I had no ideas.

 

We spent almost four hours practicing acting human.  We walked all over her house taking slow, measured steps.  Once she had mastered that we worked on making the slow pace look natural by swinging our arms slightly with each step.  She figured out how to relax her face so it didn’t look like she was concentrating so hard.  I had to admit I was impressed by her progress.  Most new vampires took years to assimilate back into society.  Then again, Bella was something else entirely.  I wondered, not for the first time, if the reason she was immune to our gifts was somehow related to her strange transformation.  There had to be a connection- I didn’t believe in coincidences.

 

We sat at her kitchen table to await her father’s arrival.  I reminded her to fidget when sitting because our stillness was a nonverbal alert to our inhuman nature.  She had her homework on the table to give her something to work on when he arrived.  She was focusing on taking deep, even breaths when I heard the police cruiser turn onto her street.  I looked at Bella to see if she had picked up the sound- she had.  Her eyes were boring into mine, full of apprehension.  I smiled, trying to be reassuring.

 

“I’ll be right upstairs,” I told her, leaning over to kiss her on the cheek.  “You can do this, just be yourself.”  I squeezed her hand and then ran up the stairs to wait in her room.  I sat on the bed and listened intently as Bella greeted her father.

 

“Hey dad.”  Good, she sounded casual and natural.

 

“Hey Bells.”  He hung up his coat and gun on the hook behind the door.  

 

“You hungry?”  She asked him, and I heard her chair scrape across the kitchen floor.  Her footsteps crossed the small room followed by the sound of the refrigerator opening.  “We have leftover salmon.”

 

“Sounds good to me.”  His chair groaned as he sank into it heavily.  “Did you do something different with your hair?”  He asked her, and I tensed forward listening with all my might.

 

“Oh yeah, Alice gave me a makeover.”  She lied smoothly, to my astonishment.  

 

“That’s nice.  Did you have fun at the Cullens then?”

 

“Sure did,” she answered airily.  “They are all really nice.”  I snorted.  My family was a lot of things, but I could not recall anyone ever referring to us as ‘nice’.  I could hear the crackling of oil as the fish cooked.

 

They ate their meal, conversing pleasantly.  The tension in my shoulders relaxed and my anxiety was replaced by awe.  I could not believe Bella was handling herself so well.  She had once been shy and hesitant; now she was confident and self-assured.  She truly was remarkable.  

 

At long last Bella climbed the stairs to her room.  Her face was triumphant.  “I did it!”  She whispered.  “I acted completely human!”

 

“Yeah, for the first time in your life!”  I teased her and she punched me playfully on the arm.  “You were magnificent,” I added.  “A total natural.  Are you sure you’ve never done this before?”

 

“What, convinced my dad that I’m just a regular and completely normal human teenager?  I am positive I have never done that before!”  We laughed together, feeling the weight of all of the stress and anxiety lifting off of our shoulders.  “Now what?”  She asked me.

 

“Now, we have to go figure out what you are.  I have a feeling that you will always be a mystery for me to solve, Bella Swan.”

 

We waited until we heard Charlie’s snores coming from the living room, then crept downstairs and out the door, closing it silently behind us.  We walked down the street and around the corner to where I had parked the Volvo.  

 

Once at home, we settled ourselves in the living room and speculated about what had transpired yesterday.

 

“What did Emmett do with him?  With James I mean.”  Bella asked me.

 

“They burned the body,” I answered carefully.  She nodded and moved on to her next question.

 

“And Victoria and Laurent?”

 

“Disappeared.  But Alice is keeping a lookout for them, in case they decide to return.  I doubt they will, after what happened to James.”  Bella’s expression darkened at the reminder.

 

“I didn’t mean to kill him.”  She whispered.  “I know that he was trying to kill me, and that he would have done it without even hesitating, but…”  she stopped, unable to continue, and I wrapped my arms around her.  As soon as she put her head down on my shoulder she was overcome with sobs.  I held her until her shoulders stopped shaking and she relaxed against me, exhausted from releasing all of the stress of the past two days.  

 

“I guess your tear ducts still work,” I joked after she had recovered herself.

 

She laughed, wiping her cheeks and sitting up.  “They definitely do.”  She croaked.  

 

“You really are still part human.”  I told her, awestruck.

 

“Is it possible the transformation was interrupted?”  Bella asked me.

 

“I considered that.  Everything was proceeding as usual until the venom failed to stop your heart.”

 

“So...am I still...alive?”

 

“It would appear so.  We would have to run some tests to determine if you are immortal like we are.”

 

“I would be willing to test your mortality,” Emmett said as he joined us.  “How about that wrestling match?  Are you ready to get skunked?”

 

“Bring it on!”  She cried, and I grinned.  This was going to be good.  

 

I followed the two of them outside to a large flat boulder that was waist high.  They stood opposite each other, and Bella placed her elbow on the boulder with her palm extended.  Her eyes sparkled with challenge.  Emmett rolled up the sleeve of his right arm and did the same.  Next to his rippling muscles, Bella’s arm looked flimsy and delicate.  I suddenly worried that she could get seriously hurt.  We still had no idea what her capabilities would be.

 

They locked palms and the match began.  For the first few moments nothing happened.  Neither of them was budging even a fraction of an inch.  I could see determination in the hard set of Bella’s jaw.  Then suddenly there was a loud crack.

 

I rushed forward to see how badly Bella’s arm was broken.  But when I got there I realized the source of the sound was the boulder.  It had a large fissure across the top as if it had sustained a blunt trauma.  I looked from Bella’s victorious grin to Emmett’s dumbfounded expression in disbelief.  He was actually rubbing the top of his hand as if he was in pain.  

 

He shook his hand out to ward off the pain and then extended it to Bella.  “Well done,”  he congratulated her, shaking her hand with a grin back on his face.  “How about a real wrestling match?”  I could already see that he wasn’t going to let this go until he bested her at something.

 

“Not so fast,” Alice chimed as she skipped across the lawn to where we stood.  “Carlisle is almost home.”

 

“Alice!”  Bella cried.  “You’re alright!”

 

“I’m fine.  Bella, I am so sorry that I let that vile..that monstrous…”  Alice was sputtering in her fury.

 

“I’m fine too, Alice.  Better, in fact.  I just beat Emmett at arm wrestling.  So please, don’t feel bad about what happened to me.  It wasn’t your fault.  I’m just glad that you and Esme are okay.  I thought…”  Her voice broke.

 

“It would take more than that to get rid of me.”  Esme joined us and embraced Bella warmly.  The relief in Bella’s eyes was palpable.  

 

“Alice,”  Bella said, “there was something that James said that has been bothering me.  He said you didn’t recognize him.  He called you the one that got away.  Did you know him?”

 

“I’ve been racking my memories trying to figure out how he knew me.  But everything before I turned is dark.”  I could hear the stress in her voice.

 

“I think you were his mark once.”  Emmett said, to everyone’s surprise.  “Before we burned him, we searched his pockets.  We found this.”  He retrieved a piece of paper out of his pocket and unfolded it.  “It has your name on it, Al.  Yours too, Bella.”

 

She took it from him and read it, gasping when she found her name.  “Mary Alice Brandon.”  She read aloud.  “But there is no date next to it.  All of the other names on this list have a date next to them.”

 

I took the paper from her to see for myself.  Sure enough, about halfway down I found Alice’s name.  The very last name on the list was Bella Swan.  “The one that got away…” I murmured.  “If these names are his victims, these must be the dates that he killed them.  He has been keeping track for all of these years, like one of those sadistic human psychopaths.  But he never got you, Alice.  That is why there is no date next to your name.  Because you got away.”

 

“But how?”  Bella asked, as shocked as the rest of us.  “The only way I escaped was because my blood killed him.  Obviously that wasn’t the case for you, Alice.”

 

“Because I was turned.” Alice said, understanding lighting her eyes.  “Someone turned me before he could kill me!”

 

“But who?”  Esme asked her.

 

“I wish I knew.”  Alice responded sadly.  “I would thank them if I could.”

 

We stood there, each of us silent in contemplation, until Carlisle showed up.

 

“Good, you’re all here.”  He said.  “Let’s go inside, shall we?  Emmett, would you please extract Rosalie from the garage?”

 

Emmett jogged off toward the garage while the rest of us returned to the living room.  Once we were all gathered, Carlisle spoke.

 

“Bella,”  he addressed her, “I’m sure you have many questions regarding your transformation.  I hope to be able to answer some of them adequately.  But the main question is this:  if you are neither human nor vampire, what are you exactly?”  Bella was leaning forward in her seat expectantly.  “I wish I had the answer for you.  Unfortunately, I have never come across a situation such as yours in any of my travels.”  She looked crushed when he told her this.  I gave her hand a squeeze.  “But I do know of some who might be able to help us.”  

 

I tensed, hearing in his thoughts where he was heading with this.  “No, absolutely not!”  I couldn’t stop myself from objecting.  “The Volturi have had you on their list for centuries!  You can’t expect to just waltz back into their territory and ask for a favor.”

 

“You’re absolutely right.”  Carlisle surprised me by agreeing with me.  “I’m not going to.  Alice is.”

 

A stunned silence fell over the room, and then we all started speaking at once.  

 

“I should be the one to go,”  I told them, “I want to find out what happened to Bella.”

 

Carlisle shook his head.  “You are too close to Bella.  If Aro touches you, he will _see_ everything.  Alice is the only one who can predict where Aro will be and therefore avoid him.”

 

Jasper’s objections were the loudest.  He had had his fill of the Volturi and their idea of justice after the war.  “You can’t send her there alone!”  He shouted.

 

“I don’t intend to.”  Carlisle replied calmly.  “I expect you will want to accompany her, as well as Emmett and Rosalie.”

 

“But they know what Jasper looks like.”  Alice said quietly.

 

“It is a risk, I do not deny it.  But with your combined abilities I am confident that you may be able to answer more than one question for us.  You will enter their compound under the guise of searching for information on the one who turned you.  You will do this, and I hope you find the answers you seek.  But while you are there, you will also search for information about any prior circumstances in which a human was bitten but did not become a vampire.  The other three will wait outside in case they are needed.  Alice, you will be able to _see_ how the Volturi receive you.”

 

As he spoke, I watched with Alice as a new vision came to her.  She had already made her decision.  She would be able to enter the compound and search through the archives unfettered.  “Looks like we leave during spring break.” She told the others.

 

“Why not just ask them what they know?”  Rosalie interjected.

 

“I feel it would be prudent not to reveal Bella’s existence until we know more about her.”

 

Bella stepped forward then.  “I can’t ask you all to risk your lives for me again.  Isn’t there any other way?”

 

“The Volturi are not dangerous unless you break their rules.  We all want to know what happened to you Bella.  We are a family, and what affects one of us affects all of us.”  He placed a hand gently on her shoulder.

 

“Thank you,” she said, her voice thick with emotion, “all of you.”  

 

“We begin our preparations tomorrow.”  Carlisle told us, and with that the family meeting was over.

 

Bella was quiet as I drove her home.  I knew she was worrying about my siblings’ trip to Italy.  I didn’t know how to comfort her, because honestly I was worried too.  Everything Carlisle had told me about the Volturi made me want to stay as far away from them as possible.  But I couldn’t think of any other options, and helping Bella figure out what had happened to her was my top priority now.  I wished fervently that I was the one going to search the archives, but Carlisle’s logic was sound.  I could not find a reason for me to go, as much as I wanted to.

 

Besides, if I was going with them that meant I would have to leave Bella.  As much as I hated being left out of the mission, I was also grateful to have an excuse to stay.  I decided we needed a distraction.  

 

As I parked the car down the street from her house, I turned to Bella grinning with anticipation.

 

“What are you up to now?” she asked me, already able to read into my expressions.

 

“Bella Swan,” I asked, “will you go to the prom with me?”

 

She burst into laughter, her eyes shining.  “Yes, Edie Cullen, I would love to go to prom with you.”


	20. Afterward

**_Bella_ **

 

Almost ten days came and went while we waited for Alice, Jasper, Emmett, and Rosalie to return.  We couldn’t risk calling them, not knowing how exactly the Volturi obtained their information on the goings-on of the vampire world.  We just had to trust that they were alright, and that Alice was finding some answers.  They had called in once or twice when they thought it was safe, but hadn’t had much to report.

 

Edie was becoming increasingly anxious.  She had taken to pacing the third-floor loft on a regular basis.  I focused my energy on learning my new abilities.  Edie and I raced through the woods every day, and I was pushing myself faster and faster until one day I finally overtook her.  My peripheral vision blurred as I flew through the trees at top speed, momentarily airborne as I leapt over the river.  It was so thrilling I didn’t even notice when I had passed her.

 

“Hey!”  She cried, and I was surprised that her voice came from behind me.  I slowed, coming to a stop in a meadow covered in wildflowers.  I collapsed into the soft grass, my lungs heaving as I stared up into the voluminous clouds.  Edie joined me and we lay there for a while enjoying the light breeze that tickled my skin and ruffled the grass.  Edie absentmindedly traced circles along my arm and I sighed with contentment.  In spite of everything in my life being up in the air, I had never felt happier.

 

The peaceful quiet was interrupted by the buzzing of Edie’s phone.  She dug it out of her pocket and looked at the caller ID.  Before I knew what was happening she had jumped up and was talking excitedly.  I stood up just as she was hanging up.

 

“They’re back!”  She exclaimed, and together we raced back to the house.

 

“-haven’t been out during the day all week!”  Rosalie was complaining when we entered.  Edie rushed forward and embraced her siblings.  I hung back, allowing them their happy reunion.  Finally Alice broke out of Edie’s arms and skipped over to me.  I hugged her tightly.

 

“I’m so glad you are all okay!”  I spoke into her spiky black hair, shutting my eyes tightly to prevent the tears from escaping.  

 

“We’ve told you before, Bella, we can handle ourselves.” She answered, squeezing my hand.

 

Carlisle, who had been at the center of the group, now called everyone’s attention.  “Alice, what were you able to find out?”

 

“I found the name of my creator,” she answered, sounding awed.  “He worked in the asylum where my family apparently had committed me.  He saw James stalking me and turned me before he could kill me.  And then-” her voice broke, “and then James killed him for thwarting him.  I will never be able to tell him how grateful I am.”  Jasper was immediately at Alice’s side, whispering in her ear.  She calmed down instantly.  I wondered what that would feel like, Jasper’s gift.  But I would never find out.  “At least now I know why I can’t remember anything about being human,” Alice continued.  “They kept me drugged in that place.  I think I was probably able to _see_ the future, even then.”

 

Everyone was quiet for a moment, taking in everything Alice had told us.  I was overcome with curiosity, but couldn’t bring myself to ask the question burning in my mind.  Carlisle had stepped toward her and placed a hand on her shoulder.  “At least now you know the truth.”  He told her gently.  She nodded.  “And did you find out any other information for us?”  He finally asked.  I inched forward, unable to contain my curiosity.

 

Alice looked at me while she answered.  “The Volturi have record of humans surviving vampire bites.”  Her voice was grave, and I didn’t understand why.  “They called them Mortifero Sanguine.”

 

“Deadly Blood,” Edie whispered.

 

“So everyone else who survived being bitten,” I started, “the vampires who bit them died?  Like James?”

 

“Yes,” Alice told us.  “The Volturi fear the Mortifero Sanguine above all others.  They hunted them to extinction over five hundred years ago.  Bella, they can never find out that you exist.”

 

Rather than feeling comforted to know I was not the first of my kind, all I could feel was terror.  “What are we going to do?”

 

“Alice, did you find any indication that the Volturi are aware of Bella’s existence?” Carlisle asked.

 

“No,” she answered, and I breathed a little easier.  Then Jasper stepped forward.

 

“I must warn you, the Volturi are stirring.  I felt it when we were there.  Something has them worked up, but we were unable to figure it out without exposing ourselves.”

 

Carlisle nodded.  “We will have to be extra careful.”

  


* * *

 

“This way Bella!”  Alice’s voice trilled with excitement as we climbed the stairs to the third floor.  She led me to the right, in the opposite direction from Evie’s room.  The room she pulled me into was enormous.  The king-sized bed was draped with white canopy, facing the glass wall and balcony that overlooked the lawn.  But Alice pulled me quickly through the room and into an equally huge closet and bathroom combination.  I gaped at racks and racks of colorful clothes, shelves of shoes, and double vanity mirrors with stools in front of them.  Alice’s closet was it’s own boutique.  

 

She plopped me down on one of the stools and studied my face.  

 

“Hmm,”  was all she said.  For the next half hour she was a flurry of activity while I sat there motionless.  Soft brushes were swept all over my face and I was poked and prodded to the limit of my patience.  But when I opened my eyes and looked in the mirror, my mouth fell open in surprise.  My dark eyes looked huge and bright, framed with thick lashes and dark liner, and a silvery shadow with just a hint of sparkle.  My cheekbones were slightly rosy and my lips colored a light pink that made them look almost the way they used to.

 

Then a full hour was spent on my hair.  My thick locks were washed, then straightened, then curled, and finally set into an elaborate arrangement on top of my head.  Alice used an entire package of bobby pins and a whole bottle of hairspray to force my usually tangled mess into submission.  She jabbed me one too many times with a pin and I finally protested loudly.  

 

“Beauty is pain, Bella.”  she intoned.

 

I scoffed at her and put my foot down.  “This will just have to be good enough.”  I huffed, then turned to storm out.

 

“Wait!”  She called, laughing at my attempt to escape.  “Your dress.”  She grinned as she held up a deep purple gown.

 

“Oh Alice, it’s gorgeous!”  I gushed.  She helped me step into it and zipped up the back.  Off the shoulder and cinched at the waist, it made me look like I actually had curves.  The final touch was a pair of black heels.  I had never felt so glamorous in all my life.

 

“My turn!”  Alice’s voice distracted me from staring at my reflection.  For a second I panicked, thinking she expected me to do her hair and make-up too.  But when I turned to her I saw she had already done hers.  Her usual spikes were smoothed down to one side and her lips were painted blood-red.  She had pulled on a black dress with little triangle cut-outs that showed off her ivory skin.  I zipped it up for her and she stepped into her heels.  Then she handed me a pair of sneakers “for after our grand entrance.”

 

Alice helped me navigate the two flights of curved stairs as we made our way to the front door.  Standing next to Carlisle and Esme in the great room was my dad with a camera, snapping pictures as we walked down to them.  “For your mom,” he explained, gesturing to the camera.  “You look beautiful, Bells.”

 

“Thanks, Dad.”  I hugged him, and then hugged Carlisle and Esme who were both beaming at me.  Then I heard two voices at the top of the stairs and turned to watch Evie and Rosalie descend.  

 

Rosalie looked beyond incredible in a scarlet silk dress that hugged her tightly.  Her golden hair fell in soft waves over one shoulder.  Then I saw Evie behind her and my breath caught.

 

She wore a floor-length halter dress covered with sparkling beads.  Her hair was held up on either side with ornate silver combs, and the rest of her auburn curls spilled down her back.  She descended the stairs gracefully and I had to concentrate on keeping my mouth from falling open.  

 

I recovered quickly, remembering we had company.  Jasper and Emmett joined us dressed in formal tuxedos and Esme had us all pose for pictures.  I was having trouble looking at the camera; my eyes kept drifting toward Edie.  Finally it was time to leave.

 

Outside, a ridiculously large limousine waited with the engine running.  We all piled in for the short drive over to Forks High.  Emmett immediately started kissing Rosalie noisily until Alice, perched on Jasper’s lap, cleared her throat.  He pulled away from her long enough to glare daggers at Alice, and then he saw my reddened face and howled with laughter.  It wasn’t long before his booming laugh caught on, and we were all laughing with him.  Edie and I still hadn’t spoken, though we kept exchanging furtive glances as the car carried us smoothly to the ball.  

 

When we arrived, I was relieved to see that ours wasn’t the only limo.  I knew Alice wanted a grand entrance, but I still preferred blending in with the crowd.  As the car in front of us pulled to a stop in front of the school, I watched Jessica, Mike, Angela, Ben, Lauren, and Tyler get out, laughing as they traipsed toward the doors.  I hurried to open my door and called out to them before they were out of range.

 

“Hey guys!”  I called, trying to catch up with them without moving overly fast and giving myself away.  Edie and her siblings were close behind me.

 

“Hi Bella, Edie.”  Angela greeted us.  “You guys look awesome!”  

 

I blushed deeper, looking down at my feet.  “Thanks, you too.”

 

“Bella I am so glad that you came!”  Jessica was all smiles.  

 

“It’s time!”  Alice called, and a second later the song booming out from the open doors of the gym changed to something with a fast tempo and heavy bass.  Emmett whooped and swung Rosalie up into his arms, carrying her into the gym as he bobbed smoothly to the beat.  Alice and Jasper followed, executing an elaborate synchronized maneuver that looked well-rehearsed.  Everyone had turned to watch them enter, clapping in time with the music.  I realized suddenly that Edie and I were next.  

 

“Oh, no.  No way.”  I shook my head, knees locking like a startled colt’s.  Fear had rendered me immobile.  Everyone in the group was staring at me, but I knew it would be worse in there.  

 

“Come on guys, let’s all go.  Together.”  Mike smiled at me as he urged everyone forward.  I mouthed a thank-you to him, and as a group we entered the gym.  I could not name the feeling that took over me as I walked into the prom with my friends surrounding me and Edie by my side, all of us dressed in our finery and feeling on top of the world.  I took it all in.

 

After we had passed under the balloon archway and had our pictures snapped in front of a colorful background, we made our way to the dance floor.  Tyler pulled me aside before we could join the other dancers.  

 

“Hey, Bella.”  He said, “I just wanted to say I’m sorry if I bugged you when you first moved here.  I didn’t know that you were, well I mean, that you liked someone else.”  

He was clearly uncomfortable, so I smiled and thanked him.  “I’m sorry too Tyler.  I should have told you up front.  I just...didn’t know how.”

 

“No worries.”  He grinned.  “Have fun tonight.”

 

I was so relieved that Tyler didn’t hate me for not telling him the truth that I was smiling from ear to ear when I turned around and saw Edie coming toward me.

 

“Hey gorgeous,” she whispered, and my heart somersaulted.  Now she was the one grinning.  She held out her hand to me.  “Would you like to dance?”

 

I nodded, not trusting myself to speak just yet.  I placed my hand in hers and she led me onto the dance floor just as a slow song was beginning.  She pulled me close, and her hands on the small of my back sent shivers up and down my spine.  

 

“Do you know what I just realized?”  She asked me with a playful edge to her voice.

 

“What?”  I asked as we swayed back and forth to the music.

 

“This is our first date.”  Her smile warmed me from my core.

 

“You’re right!”  I had become so accustomed to being with her that I hadn’t even noticed we had skipped right over actually dating.  “Although, I don’t think this actually counts as a date.”

 

“What do you mean?”  She was immediately vexed.

 

“Well typically people have dinner first and then go out dancing.”  I teased, and her smile returned.

 

“Okay then, let’s see.  We had dinner in Port Angeles, does that count?”

 

I laughed.  “I think we would have to combine all of the times we’ve gone out to constitute one date.”

 

“You’re right,” she grinned, enjoying the game.  “We started with book shopping.”

 

“Very good date material.”  I concurred.

 

“And then we had dinner.”

 

“But does it still count if only one person actually ate dinner?” I raised one eyebrow at her.

 

“True, but then we walked along the boardwalk.” she reminded me.

 

“Oh yes, classic dating move.”

 

“We listened to music together.”

 

“Essential when determining compatibility.”  I grinned, “but I wonder how many other couples meet each other’s parents on the first date?”

 

“You know, there was a time when that was in fact expected.” she countered, and before I could answer she spun me under her arm until I faced away from her, her arm across my waist pulling me back against her until her chin rested on my shoulder.  “But they say that propriety is dead.”  She whispered, her breath tickling my ear as she spoke.  Her right hand now rested on my hip, and her other hand traced lightly down my bare arm.  I shivered again, closing my eyes.

 

My thoughts were getting tangled up in the feel of her arms around me and her lips on my neck, and I was suddenly very glad that she couldn’t hear what I was thinking right then.  Propriety was the furthest thing from my mind.  But as usual, she seemed to follow my thought process even without the help of her gift.

 

“Do you want to get out of here?”  She asked, her voice full of longing.  I didn’t answer, just grabbed her hand with mine and pulled her toward the door.  I grabbed my sneakers from the cubby and pulled off the heels that Alice had given me.

 

When we got to the door, I saw the one person I had not expected to see tonight.  The one person besides Edie who I had most wanted to talk to after my transformation, and also the one person who I had been avoiding ever since:  Jacob Black.

 

He wore a black suit jacket unbuttoned over a white dress shirt, his long black hair held back with a rubber band at the nape of his neck.  He looked like he had grown at least a foot since I had last seen him.  When I looked at him, I felt like I was finally home and everything would be okay.  Why had I been putting this off?

 

Then I noticed his expression, and suddenly I remembered.  I was different now.  Other.  

 

“Jake!”  I cried, reaching out toward him.  He took a step back, eyeing me warily.  I realized what I must look like to him.  What he must think I had become.  “Jake, wait!”  He froze in mid-step, watching me.  

 

“I thought something had happened to you, when you stopped calling.”  He growled, furious.  “I never thought that _this_ would have happened.”  He turned to glare at Evie.  “How could you do this to her?”  He was yelling now.

 

“Careful, Jacob.”  She warned, glancing around the gym.  The music was loud enough that no one had overheard our exchange except for the other Cullens, who now had stopped dancing and were watching us.

 

“Jake, it’s not what you think!”  He shook his head and turned to leave.  I rushed forward, no longer caring if anyone noticed that I moved just a little too quickly.  “Listen to me!”  I grabbed his elbow to stop him and he rounded on me.

 

“You promised me you were going to be careful.”  His voice was cold and hard.  “You told me that you would be safe with her.”  He shot Edie a look so full of venom I suddenly worried that he was about to attack her.  

 

“I am!  The only reason I am standing here right now is because of her.”  

 

“Oh that’s convenient.  She turned you into one of them to save your life, is that it?”

 

“But I’m not!  Don’t you get it?”  I was getting angry now.  He wasn’t listening.  So I grabbed his hand and placed it over my heart.  His eyes widened in surprise as my heart beat slammed against his palm.  “Do you see now?”

 

“Whoa.”  He murmured.  

 

“Yeah, I know.”  I agreed.  

 

“What happened to you Bella?”

 

“It’s a long story,” I told him, not sure how much I wanted to divulge.  I didn’t want him to worry, but I also didn’t want to keep anything from him.

 

“Come on, you have to tell me.”  He pleaded, and I finally relented.  

 

“Okay, but not here.  Walk with me outside?”  He nodded, and I turned back to Evie reluctantly.  I wasn’t ready for our prom to be over yet.

 

“Go on, talk to Jacob,” she told me before I could say anything.  “I’ll be here when you get back.”  She smiled and kissed me tenderly, then I turned and walked with Jacob outside toward the football field.

  


**_Edie_ **

 

I frowned as I watched Bella and Jacob walk out of the gym.  There was something different about him, something beyond just his growth spurt.  I was shaking my head when my siblings joined me by the door.

 

“What’s up with the Native kid?”  Emmett asked.  

 

“That’s Jacob Black,” I told them.  “Bella’s best friend.”

 

“You mean Black as in _Ephriam Black_?”  Rosalie asked.

 

“Jacob is his descendant, yes.”  I answered.

 

“So is it happening again then?” Emmett didn’t sound concerned, more like hopeful.

 

“I suppose it could be.  We will have to keep a closer eye on the reservation from now on.”

 

“Is what happening again?”  Jasper was confused.

 

“Let’s just say the local tribe has their own way of defending their people against...people like us.”  I was careful with my words, not wanting anyone around us to overhear.  “But the treaty is still intact.  We shouldn’t have anything to worry about from them.  We have kept up our end of the bargain.”

 

My explanation was interrupted when Bella and Jacob returned.  

 

“Jake, I think it’s time that you finally met Edie, officially.”  Bella introduced us.  I stepped forward and offered him my hand.  He hesitated a fraction of a second before shaking hands.  If I once thought Bella felt warm, it was nothing compared to Jacob.  His skin burned as if he had a fever.  It seemed like Emmett was right, the past was definitely repeating itself.  

 

Bella then introduced the others and they all shook hands with Jacob.  It was a tense moment as each of them registered the difference in his temperature.  But for once, no one in my family had anything to say.  Jacob looked relieved as he turned to leave us.

 

“Won’t you stay and dance with us?”  Bella asked.

 

“No thanks,” he shrugged.  “It’s not really my thing.  I’ll see you around Bella.  For sure this time.”  

 

“For sure,” she answered, grinning at him.

 

Before he left he looked at each of us in turn.  The meaning in his eyes was clear: they were still watching us.  

 

“So you told him everything?”  I asked Bella after he’d gone.

 

“Yes,” she answered.  

 

“Good,” I replied.  “They need to know that we are not the ones who bit you.”

 

“That would have violated the treaty?”  She asked.

 

“Oh yes.” I told her, and she nodded.

 

The rest of my family had wandered back inside to the dance floor.  I wasn’t quite ready to return to high school just yet.  Bella stayed outside with me, and together we walked along the running track that circled the soccer field.  

 

The music still drifted over to us from the open doors of the gym, and I jumped out in front of Bella and performed a low sweeping bow with hand outstretched.  “May I have this dance, my lady?”

 

She accepted my hand, and I pulled her into a quick-step, turning her around and around until she was breathless with laughter.  “Where did you learn to dance?” she asked when she had caught her breath.  

 

“Oh, lot’s of different places.  When I was young I learned step dancing in school.  Since then I have picked up other styles depending on where we lived.”

 

Bella was staring at me in fascination.  “Where have you lived?”

 

“I’ll tell you all about it sometime.”  I grinned at her.  It seemed she would never run out of questions.  “We have all the time in the world now.”

 

“You don’t know that for sure.”  Her voice was sad now, uncertain.

 

“You’re right, I don’t.  But even if we only have a little while, as long as I spend it with you it is enough for me.”

 

“Sometimes I feel like even forever wouldn’t be long enough,” she countered.  I sighed, and we sat down on the grass field looking up at the stars.  

 

“Forever isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.”  I told her.  “But this right here,” I lifted her hand in mine and brushed my lips over the top of it, then cupped my other hand around her cheek, feeling the warmth and softness of her skin.  “This is all I need.”

 

We were quiet for a long time, staring up into the night sky.  I could hear the distant voices of the dancers mingling with the music, and beyond that the traffic of town.  But the only thoughts inside my head were my own.  I cleared my mind, just relishing the peaceful silence.  

 

Now that I knew that Bella would remain by my side, the frustration at not being able to hear her mind had dissolved.  I actually looked forward to learning more about her little by little, and letting her know more about me.  I was beginning to realize that always being privy to everyone’s thoughts around me had sullied my opinion of the human race.  Perhaps that was why, as Carlisle pointed out, I had become reclusive over the years.  

 

But there was still goodness left in the world, as evidenced by the person sitting next to me.  I was eager for the future now, imagining day after day of talking to her, hearing her voice and earning her smiles.  Even if we only had a short time ahead of us, that in itself would be enough to make up for all of my years existing without ever feeling what I felt right now.  It might even be enough for forever.  


End file.
